Guardian Angel
by Marie Anastasia
Summary: This story takes place right after Frostbite. So instead of Shadow Kiss happening this happens Lissa is practicing magic with Adrian in his room and the story unfolding from there! We don't own any characters! All credit goes to Richelle Mead! Review!
1. Chapter 1

Chapter One

"Focus, I know you can do this," Adrian whispered.

I don't think Adrian got how hard it was to do miracles with spirit.  
Well, I guess he had to know. He learned how to make things grow. With  
his mind!

"Open your eyes. What do you see?" Adrian asked quietly.

I carefully opened my eyes and gasped at what I saw. Something was  
surrounding Adrian, and it was so beautiful. It was royal purple and  
streaked with gold, much like he had been telling me mine was.

"I see it!" I squealed.

"Lissa, that's great! I knew you could do it!" Adrian said. Then he  
leaned forward and gave me a huge victory hug. I felt so happy! I  
finally learned one of Adrian's tricks!

While Adrian's arms were still around me Christian came storming intothe room.

"What do you think you're doing?!" Adrian and I sprang apart like we  
had been electrocuted. He glanced up and gave Christian his famous  
sarcastic smile.

"What do you think we're doing Ozera?"

"We're practicing magic Christian," I said, "I saw his aura! I did  
it!" I was thrilled, but Christian still looked seriously ticked off.

"So I guess 'magic' has to do with having you guys all over each  
other, huh?" Adrian looked like he was about to agree, but I quickly  
interrupted.

"No, we were just hugging. Chill."

"You tell me to chill!? What do you think you're doing? I've known  
this has been going on and I haven't stopped it! I've been so stupid!"

"Christian! What are you talking about!?" I yelled at him. I had no idea where this anger was coming from. He stormed out of the room as  
quickly as he had burst in.

"Adrian, I have to go see what his problem is. Thanks so much for  
helping me." I said quickly as I was half-way to the door.

There at the end of the hall stood a very pissed off Christian.

"Christian. What's wrong with you?" I asked him as calmly as I can.

"I could ask you the same question. I wasn't the one cheating."

"What?! We already told you we were just practicing magic. How dare  
you accuse me?" I screamed at him.

"How dare I accuse you? I wasn't the one making out with Adrian and acting like a slut! You know, I think it's better if we just take a  
break from each other for a while. " I was shocked and hurt. I had  
gotten so used to people calling Rose a slut, and just ignoring me. It  
hurt me that Rose was insulted, but being called a slut by Christian  
and hearing him break up with me was more than I could handle. I  
raised my hand and slapped him as hard as I could across the face. He  
stood there stunned for a second but I didn't give him a chance to  
retaliate. I ran back the way we had come. I stopped by Adrian's door debating rather or not to go in when he opened the door and pulled me  
inside.

"Have you been listening?" I asked sounding like a child.

"Yeah I have Lissa. I'm sorry. How about you go sit down? Do you want  
something to drink?" Adrian asked.

"Um, sure I guess. Thanks." I said through my tears. I went and sat down on the edge of Adrian's bed. A few minutes later, Adrian came  
back with two huge glasses of ice water and sat down next to me.

"Are you alright?" Adrian asked putting an arm around my shoulder.

"Not really." I said chuckling.

"Is there anything I can do for you? You know, to make you feel  
better?" Adrian inquired. I was a bit surprised Adrian looked really  
concerned about me.

"Well, I guess since I'm already here, could you just sit with me  
please?" I asked uncomfortably. Asking Adrian for comfort was kind of new for me. Who knew Adrian was emotional, or had feelings for that  
matter.

"Of course I can. In fact I would be honored to sit with you." Adrian  
said surprising me once again. He left his arm around my shoulder and  
I laid my head against his. After sitting there quietly for a little  
while Adrian spoke.

"You know, I'm actually glad that you guys broke up."

"Why do you say that?" I said kind of upset again.

"'Cause now I don't have to share you." Adrian said adding one of his  
rare sincere smiles. I looked at him shocked but before I could  
answer, he leaned down and pressed his lips against mine. I had always  
thought that kissing Christian was the best feeling in the world. I  
now knew I was mistaken. Adrian's lips were soft and gentle, but I  
tried to fight him off. The feeling was too wrong. When he finally  
leaned away, I saw the sweet smile turn sarcastic again and reminded  
me that Rose hated his guts. I glared at him and he smirked back.

"Why did you do that? You thought that since Christian broke up with  
me I'd fall in love with you?" His smile was still there but I could  
see worry deep in his eyes.

"What," he said sarcastically. "You can't lie to me. I know you liked  
it." I glared back as hatefully as I could, but deep down, I knew he  
was right. I slapped him as hard as I could, possibly harder than  
Christian, and left the room.

The door slammed and I woke up with a start. I wasn't Lissa anymore. I  
was Rose. And I certainly wasn't in Adrian's guest room. And there was  
Christian. As ticked off as I had seen him through the bond.

"What are you looking at?" Christian growled. He stomped through his  
room, which I had to unfortunately share with him because I was  
guarding him in field training.

"Well hello to you too sunshine." I replied sweetly.

"How long has it been going on?" He demanded.

"Oh! You know about that? I have to go warn Lissa before the big bad  
fire breathing dragon comes to get her." I said sarcastically.

"You know? Well, of course you know! God! How are you freaking  
everywhere!?" Christian said through his gritted teeth.

"Well aren't you a bundle of joy? Well you're also a retard. By  
dumping Lissa you just threw her into Adrian's open arms. Good job,  
buddy." I said too sweetly.

"You know what Rose? Go to hell for all I care." Christian said.

"Hey, hey, hey! Let's not get to hasty. Wherever I go, you go. If I'm  
going to hell, I'm dragging you down with me." I growled, giving him  
my best glare. I stalked out of the room and slammed the door behind me.

As I stomped down the hall probably looking like a demented elephant,  
I ran into Lissa. She looked at my face and I felt through the bond  
that she knew that I had seen what had happened.

"So… You talked to Christian," she said with a little amusement.

"Talked to Christian? I have no clue what you mean… Unless you count  
calling him a retard talking to him." She rolled her eyes at me and I had to laugh.

"So are you okay, Liss?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. I'm going to go back to my room and lay down. I need  
a nap."

"No problem. I might go have a talk with Adrian." She noticed the look  
on my face and said,

"Don't hurt him Rose. He's just full of himself." I felt concern  
through the bond and I mentally rolled my eyes. She was too nice.

"Don't worry. I won't hurt him… Just… shake him up a bit."

"Ok then… Well… Eddie is in my room so I will be protected."

"Eddie's a good guy. I'm glad that out of everyone, besides me, he was  
chosen to take care of you Liss." I quickly pulled her into a quick  
hug and then walked towards Adrian's room in the guest building.

Once I had gotten to Adrian's door I pounded the hell out of it. He  
opened it and grinned at me.

"Hey baby. How you doing? (he sounded very much like Joey from  
Friends.) Looks like I got two hot chicks in one night. How did I get  
so lucky? A dhampir and a moroi…" I barely controlled the urge to beat  
the living daylights out of him until his breaths were severely  
numbered.

"Let me in you idiot."

"Certainly my dear." I resisted the very tempting urge again.

"You knew that Lissa was messed up about Christian, so you decided to assault her when defenses were down. Mature Adrian. Real mature." He  
grinned at me again.

"Hey, a guy has to take advantage of the situation. You and Dimitri  
should know that…."

"Shut up. Just leave her alone."

"I would, but I honestly don't think that she wants me to leave her alone…"

Using my amazing dhampir reflexes I shoved Adrian on to the couch,  
threw a pillow at him, slapped him, and growled evilly,

"Stay away from my best friend."

I stalked away much like I had with Christian. Wow, Lissa and I were  
awesome and we didn't need anyone to tell us that. That didn't mean that we didn't enjoy hearing how amazing we were, but we just knew  
that we were legends. No big deal though.


	2. Chapter 2

**thanks to everyone that reviewed! we really appreciate it! here's chapter two!**

**_Anastasia_**

___________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Morning. Thank God, last night was horrible. Lissa was freaking out  
all night so of course I got no sleep. I got out of bed and stumbled  
into the bathroom. I hopped into the shower, and got changed.  
Normally, I would shower at night, but I was so exhausted from Lissa  
and Christian's fight that I dropped straight into bed before a night of torture. After breakfast, I went to go meet Dimitri for our regular  
training practice. This was exactly what I needed after a long night.  
I needed my fix of Dimitri to make sure I got through the day. I  
hastily walked to the gym.

"Good morning, Rose."

"Hey Dimitri." I said glumly.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing. Can we please just start practice? I have a lot on my mind."

"Of course." He said politely. I could see he was still curious about  
what was wrong with me, but he let it go and shifted into a defensive  
position. We fought for a while, neither of us gaining the upper hand,  
just warming up. But then the fighting got more serious and our blows  
got harder. But anytime I seemed to be gaining an advantage he beat me  
down again. Just as it seemed that I would lose, I gained leverage by  
planting my foot in the middle of his chest. I grabbed his arms and  
shoved him down. I pinned him to the floor with my knee and grinned  
successfully at him. But instead of returning my smile he just looked  
at me. We were both sweaty and breathing hard from the fight, but  
nothing else mattered except for him. I began to feel self-conscious  
as his gaze seemed to pierce through to my soul.

But our reverie was broken by the sound of someone walking down  
towards the practice room. I quickly pushed myself off of him just in  
time to see Stan walk in the door.

"Guardian Belikov, may I speak to you about the… subject we discussed  
earlier? Miss Hathaway sorry to interrupt your… practice time," he  
said nodding towards me. I looked from him to Dimitri, thoroughly  
confused. Damn it he was being vague just to annoy me!

"Rose," said Dimitri, "I'm sorry, but we'll have to end this practice  
a little short. You did very well today. I hope you don't mind."

"Of course not Guardian Belikov." But I did mind. These practice  
sessions were the highlight of my day, and I treasured every second. I  
didn't know if he felt the same way, but I sure hoped he did. He left the room, and I tried to decipher what Stan had said. It was clear  
that it was something that he didn't want me to know, and he had  
succeeded. I had absolutely no clue. It had to be something to do with  
me, but what on earth would one of my affairs have something to do  
with both Stan and Dimitri? Did he go to him for help with some secret  
guardian thing? It annoyed me that it was something that they couldn't  
discuss in front of me, but I projected all my anger at Stan. Dimitri  
was just too damn gorgeous to stay mad at. I left the practice room in  
a daze and ran straight into Adrian. I was so confused that I didn't  
even have a smart-ass response to him.

"Whoa, little dhampir. You look kind of out of it. Have you been  
drinking?"

"God Adrian. Like you can be talking. Have you ever been completely  
sober one day in your miserable life?" He grinned at me.

"I don't think so. Even now, I can't remember how much vodka I've had.  
But, being around Lissa so much does dull the effects… she's like a drug that I can't get enough of." He grinned evilly at me again, and I  
released all the pent up anger at Stan onto Adrian.

"Oh my God Adrian! Why can't you just leave our school and our lives  
alone!? No one wants you here. I'm pretty sure that both Christian and  
I have made that pretty clear. Despite what you're delusional mind has  
convinced you, Lissa is not into you whatsoever. You need to back off  
and leave everyone alone!" I shoved past him and congratulated myself on not beating the crap out of him. Wow. My self-control had really  
improved. I stalked down the hall wanting to punch something plus  
being royally pissed off at the whole world. My head was pounding and  
the only thing that could possibly make me happy now is running into  
Dimitri and hearing him shout that he loved me. But, somehow, I knew  
that wasn't going to happen. Life sucks sometimes. Trust me. I would  
know. Plus, my star-crossed relationship with the only guy I really  
couldn't have wasn't really helping my situation all that much. Though  
it did help me get through the day. The only good thing about my  
practice with Dimitri being cut off was that now I got to go back to  
Christian's room (ugh) and just relax. And try to piece together my  
very screwed up life. I drug myself back up to the Moroi dorms and  
collapsed on my bed. My head hurt so bad that even though  
I knew that I only had a little bit before the practice was normally  
over, I fell asleep immediately. This time, my dreams were my own, and  
not Lissa's.

I was walking along the edge of the forest by the guardian's cabin  
when I saw something move in the trees. I tensed, unsure what was  
following me, when Dimitri stepped out of the shadows. I relaxed and  
smiled and went up to him. His dark brown hair was pulled into a low  
ponytail at the nape of his neck. His gorgeous brown eyes swept  
quickly down my body then back up to my eyes.

"What are you doing out here all alone?" He asked quietly.

"You know, just taking a walk… What about you?" I loved him so much.  
But still…. There was some part of me that still wondered whether  
actually loved me.

"Just thinking. I find peace in the church, but sometimes nature helps  
me more." He smiled at me and I felt suddenly at peace just like he  
had said. Surprising myself, I leaned forward and hugged him. Finding  
comfort in his tall, strong frame. His arms wrapped around me and his  
chin rested on the top of my head. I sighed when he leaned away like I  
knew he would. He stared intently into my eyes and I felt myself  
blushing. He leaned forward and gently brushed his lips to my  
forehead. But suddenly the dreamed changed suddenly. It morphed into  
the cafeteria, and I immediately knew that it was one of Adrian's  
dreams. It had a slightly glowing border around it.

"Come out, come out wherever you are!" I shouted into the empty  
cafeteria, knowing he would soon appear. Adrian walked in with his  
sarcastic smile on his face. I glared at him and he stopped walking  
towards me. He looked very pleased with himself.

"Leave me alone Adrian. I want to sleep." I sighed knowing this could  
be awhile. But this time, he didn't launch into his outrageous  
flirting. Instead, he seemed kind of eager to leave.

"I only needed to convey a message. Lissa wants to talk to you before class. It doesn't sound good." He grinned at me again. "Have fun." He  
walked away and the dream faded into normal darkness.

I hit the floor with a loud thud. I groaned and straightened up.  
Christian was grinning at me over the edge of the bed. I groaned again  
as I remembered that Lissa needed to talk to me. As much as I despised  
Adrian, I believed him on this point. Lissa wasn't exactly pleased  
with me. I got changed and dragged myself to my first class. I saw  
Lissa waiting impatiently for me in front of the door. I didn't listen  
into her thoughts. I didn't want to know why she was upset.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

I was so pissed at Rose. She was my best friend and still she kept this from me! I noticed Rose walking towards me with a slightly worried expression on her face, like she knew what was coming to her. I softened slightly. I was sure there was a good reason she didn't tell me but I was still pissed.

"Hey," she said. "What's up?" Then, I snapped.

"Why didn't you tell me!?" She looked confused. Apparently she didn't know.

"Tell you what, Liss? I tell you everything." Now she looked concerned, like there was something she'd just forgotten to tell me.

"Not everything apparently! Why didn't you tell me about Dimitri!?" I saw her freeze, then worry crossed her face.

"How did you figure out?" She looked terrified and I understood that she was worried that if I could figure it out, then others could too. But I didn't figure it out. Adrian had told me, which surprised me, but I never doubted him for a second.

"Adrian!" she shouted. People looked at her like they were worried about her mental health. She had used the bond to pick out the answer before I had been able to explain. "He said he wouldn't tell! Anybody!" She was so furious that I tried to calm her down by sending soothing thoughts through the bond. Apparently, it didn't work. Her face was no longer furious, but it was now worried.

"It's okay, Rose. I won't tell anyone, I promise. You know I won't betray you like that. But why didn't' you tell me in the first place, Rose?" She grabbed my hand and dragged me away from the door into a deserted hall.

"I couldn't tell you, Liss! It's bad enough admitting to myself that I'm in love with him! It's bad enough that Adrian knows! I can't be with him so I didn't tell anyone. I wanted to tell you, Liss, I promise. But I couldn't." She looked so distraught that I leaned forward and hugged her. She hugged me back, and I felt tears dripping down her cheek onto mine. We broke apart and I smiled at her.

"I'm glad I know now, Rose. I know why you kept it from me, and even though I'm still a little upset that you didn't tell me, I'm glad that I know. We'll figure something out. I promise." She smiled at me and I relaxed. She would be okay. I wouldn't let her be sad anymore. "There's something I have to tell you…" Rose looked at me curiously, then gasped.

"You and Adrian!" she clearly had not used the bond recently and she had had no clue up to this. I grimaced, hoping she wouldn't take it badly. She just shook her head and we headed to class where Christian was waiting for her stonily. He acknowledged her presence with a brief nod and walked past me angrily. I looked after him with sadness, but I wasn't upset over our breakup any more. My heart no longer belonged to him.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

As I walked to Christian's first class, I pondered over the fact that Lissa knew about Dimitri and me. And Lissa and Adrian! I hadn't said anything to her because I didn't want to know why. How hadn't I noticed before? I hadn't been paying attention to the bond for a few days so I had no clue. But, even though Adrian pissed me off, I was glad that Lissa wasn't upset over the breakup and was moving on quickly… very quickly. I decided to try to talk to Christian before he exploded from pent up anger.

"You know, Christian…" I started before he cut me off.

"Just shut up, Rose. I know that this isn't your fault but I can't talk to you right now." I was about to shut up when I saw the look on his face. It was resigned but still extremely pissed off. But I figured, all the times that Christian had annoyed me, he needed payback.

"What do you mean?" I said, expecting his answer.

"Yeah, I know I made a mistake with accusing Lissa of being with Adrian. I was wrong then. And I know that I threw her into Adrian's arms. But did he have to take her!? She would've come back to me!" He seemed perfectly convinced that she would've, but I had known that she was getting tired of him. He had begun to treat her differently. "God and now I know for sure that they're together!" Now this wasn't something I had expected.

"You heard our conversation?" I had begun to feel pity on the poor boy.

"Just the ending. But it wasn't a huge surprise. I should've known." We got to his classroom and went in. I spent the whole class period half watching the room and thinking about all the crap that was wrong in my life. The class was about over when two shapes in all black flew into the classroom. I shoved Christian behind me and shifted into defensive mode. He had to be protected. I sprang at the first hooded figure and punched him in the face, causing blood to spurt from his nose. The hood fell back and I saw Stan coming at me again. I thought briefly how good it would feel to beat him and I made sure my practice stake was still there. I kicked him back across a desk and brought the stake down over his heart. He immediately stopped fighting and I turned to see the other fighters. I saw the other novices desperately trying to ward off this attacker, but they were failing. Several had already been beaten. I ran over and kicked the guardian in the back. He turned around and I almost froze.

It was Dimitri. I didn't allow myself to stop fighting but internally, I was fighting with myself. I knew I had to beat him, but I was telling myself I wasn't good enough yet. But I kept on fighting and forcing myself to use his moves against him. We had been fighting against each other for months, so he knew my moves and I knew his. We circled each other and he sprang at me across the desks and reached for my throat. I kicked him as hard as I could in the stomach and jumped back at him. He landed on the desk and I saw him wince in pain as the small of his back caught the edge of the desk. I yanked the stake out and shoved it over his heart. Not paying attention to what I was doing, I allowed my exhaustion to take over and I laid my head down on Dimitri's chest. We were breathing heavily and we were pressed together because of his position on the desk. I closed my eyes for a brief second and felt his hands discreetly on my waist. I opened my eyes again and saw him staring back at me with pride, and love. (I hoped.) Knowing I had to, I got off and helped him up. I heard the whole class erupt into cheering and I grinned. I had beaten Dimitri. I remembered the look in his eyes and I was sure that lust had been in there somewhere, just as I was sure it was in mine. Even though I knew I shouldn't I asked quietly,

"Dimitri, Christian, may I have a word with you?" Christian looked at me curiously, but Dimitri showed no expression… for now.

"Of course, Rose." Said Dimitri politely; as if he thought nothing was going to happen. We walked down the hall away from the classroom. Christian had a break right now and I was going to take advantage of it.

"Christian, can you excuse us for a minute? I need to ask Dimitri a question." He looked curious again but nodded. I walked into an empty classroom and Dimitri followed me. He closed the door after telling Christian that it was guardian stuff. He smiled at me.

"Roza, you did amazing back there." My heart fluttered idiotically hearing him compliment me.

"Thanks, comrade. I just wanted to talk to you without a bunch of people hearing."

"Of course." Awkward silence fell between us, and I felt like a moron for bringing him in here.

"I was wondering what you and Stan were talking about, that day that you had to call practice early." He stared at me for a long time before answering.

"I'm petitioning to switch guardians for Lissa. Stan volunteered. Now only the technical stuff is left." For a moment I stood there uncomprehendingly.

"But why…" and then I understood. "Oh!" He was switching so that we could be together. There was no other way. We couldn't be guarding Lissa together, and in love with each other. We would protect each other. Not her. "Does Stan know about…. Us?"

"Yes."

But I wasn't able to say anything else before his lips slammed onto mine. I closed my eyes and melted into the kiss. I wrapped my arms around his waist and felt his arms tighten around mine. The kiss deepened and I moaned softly. His arms got tighter around my waist and I brought my arms up around his neck, bringing his mouth closer to mine. The door suddenly slammed opened and we sprung apart. A shocked Christian stood at the entrance.

"So this is secret guardian stuff? How long has this been going on?" He stood there dumbfounded and looked from Dimitri to me.

"Christian, I can explain," I said, "but you can't tell anyone!"

"Oh trust me. I won't tell. No one else needs to be subjected to this. But, Belikov, this is surprising. I never expected this of you." I glared at Christian, and I was surprised to feel Dimitri's arm go around my waist.

"Trust me, Ozera. I never expected it either. But, Rose got the best of me." I was shocked to hear him admit this, but thrilled at the same time. Christian grinned.

"You never answered my question. How long?" I groaned. I really did not want this conversation right now. But Dimitri answered for me and lied slightly.

"Not long. But I couldn't stay away from her." I blushed. He was taking all the blame, which wasn't exactly fair. I hadn't been any saint. Christian slowly whistled.

"Wow. Lots of new love all over the place!" The smile left his face and he left the room. Dimitri looked at me.

"They broke up?"

"Yeah, and now Liss is going out with Adrian." Compassion shot across Dimitri's face. God, I loved him.

"Oh… He's taking it hard?"

"Yeah. He feels guilty because he broke up with her." Dimitri, being the gentleman he was, didn't ask why. We left the room and met Christian outside. I slipped into Lissa's head very quickly to see what she was doing. I shot back out as soon as I saw she was with Adrian


	5. Chapter 5

'_Do you think our love, can take us away together?' _

_'I think our love can do anything we want it to.' _

_'I love you.' _

_  
'I love you, Allie.' _

_'Good night.' _

_  
'Good night. I'll be seeing you.'_

Tears were freely falling down my face now.

"Aww! Lissa! I didn't know you would start crying during _The Notebook_." Adrian teased lightly, "It's very sweet."

"God, Adrian! Shut up! You know you were crying too!" I went playfully to push his shoulder. Before I could I could even touch him, he grabbed my hands and pulled me close. He brought his lips to mine and electricity shot through me. Adrian's arm wrapped possessively around my waist. Instinctively I put my hands up around Adrian's neck to bring our faces closer together. Finally when we had to break for air, Eddie cleared his throat.

"Um… Guys… I hate to be rude and all but… Please. Get a room!" Eddie said, putting a look of disgust on his face. There was tension in his voice even though he was trying to joke. I felt a pang of guilt shoot through me.

"Technically, Eddie, this is my room... I suppose you could leave, but I think it's good that you are here. You might need to save the Stirgoi from me, that is, if they even get in. They might already think someone is being attacked in here..." Adrian said seductively, nuzzling my neck.

"Oh my God! Adrian! That's just nasty, dude! Well, Lissa we need to get back to class." Eddie said quickly. Eddie was such a good guy. He sat in front of Adrian and me the whole movie. He didn't once look back, for that I was thankful. Eddie was a guy you could depend to give you privacy whenever you needed it.

Earlier that day, Adrian had found me after my first class to tell me that he had something planned for me during free period. As soon as free period started, I met Adrian outside the classroom, and he proceeded to take me up to his room. Eddie had to come too, but I was all right with that. He was a great friend. We had gone through his large assortment of movies and I picked out The Notebook. Adrian had asked Eddie to sit on the chair in front of us and had it sent butterflies fluttering in my stomach when I thought of the possible reason for it. I made my way back to second period in a daze as I thought of all that had happened. I barely noticed the fake Stirgoi attack in our classroom. Christmas break was coming up and Adrian said that he had a surprise planned for me. I could barely wait. At lunch, I found Rose and went to sit by her.

"How was the movie with Adrian?" she asked immediately. I sighed, knowing I could keep nothing from her.

"It was sad. The Notebook always makes me cry." She grinned at me, knowing that. We had rented it when we ran away, and I was sobbing into her shoulder by the end. She, of course, was laughing.

"Yup. Are you still pissed at me about the whole Dimitri issue?" It surprised me that she'd bring that up. Had something happened?

"No. Of course not. Why?"

"Well, your ex now knows." How did Christian now know? God her life was so screwed.

"What happened?" This had to seriously suck for Christian. Everyone was with someone except for him.

"Well, he kind of caught us making out…"

"ROSE!" I was shocked, but I started to laugh. This was so like her.

"Hey, I'm sorry. We asked for privacy. He's the one who barreled through the door and caught us." Now she was laughing too. I could imagine her shocked expression as Christian charged into the room and saw them. But our laughter was cut short as everyone's attention was suddenly drawn to the front as the lunchroom as Alberta stepped up.

"Excuse me, students. I have an announcement." Rose and I looked at each other in confusion.

"We have a new student with us. His name is Stefan. He was transferred from Romania. I'm sure you'll make him feel at home." A guy about our age stepped up and smiled at the lunchroom. Alberta then guided him over to Lissa and me.

"Stefan, this is Lissa and Rose. They'll show you around if you need anything." She then promptly left. Rose looked at me and raised her eyebrows. She was clearly thinking the same thing I was. Why on earth put us in charge of him? We were former runaways. Not good examples. Stefan was tall with sandy brown hair and pale blue eyes. He was tall and had a cute smile.

"Hey Stefan," said Rose. "Nice to meet you."

"Omg, thanks. Nice to meet you too." Rose eyed me again, and the look clearly said, oh my God he's gay. I sent my "totally" through the bond. Then, Christian walked over and sat next to Rose. He was staring at Stefan. He didn't look angry, so I hoped I was forgiven.

"Hey, who's your friend?" he asked.

"Christian, this is Stefan. Stefan, Christian." I said. Making introductions.

"Hey Christian! Nice to meet you!" He was really cute, but I hoped Christian wouldn't freak out about the fact he was gay.

'Hey Stefan. Nice to meet you too." He smiled at him, and a brief thought flicked through my head but I dismissed it immediately. Rose raised an eyebrow at me, but I shook my head at her. Apparently, it hadn't been fleeting enough for Rose to have missed it through the bond. Stefan noticed our exchange with wide eyes.

"Oh my gosh. Can you guys understand each other without talking? Like, mind reading?" I looked anxiously at Rose and sent, "what do we do!?" through the bond. She gave me a look that said, "I'll take care of it." I okayed her plan through the bond and sighed. This could be a long conversation.

"Well, Lissa is specialized in the element Spirit, which means she's able to heal things. I died, and she brought me back to life, so we have a bond. I can hear what she's thinking." Stefan stared at us and I wondered whether he was going to believe us.

"OH MY GOD! That is so cool!" Rose smiled at him and I sent relief and admiration through the bond. Damn she was good. She shortened an hour-long story into a minute. Thankfully, the bell rang, ending lunch, and we escorted Stefan to his next class, thankful he couldn't ask any more questions.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter Six

After the school day ended, I went to visit Adrian. I felt like such a bad girl going up to a guy's room uninvited, but I convinced myself that it was just friendly… mostly. I knocked on his door with my stomach twisted in knots. He opened the door and he just had a pair of shorts on. Surprise crossed his face when he saw me, and then and big smile transformed his face from gorgeous to stunning.

"Hey, Lissa," he said happily. "What do I owe this pleasant surprise?" I smiled, secretly pleased, as he seemed genuinely happy to see me.

"Oh, nothing. I just wanted to talk." I smiled at him again, and he opened the door wide to let me in. The only other time I'd been alone with him was when we were practicing magic together, and that was merely friendly. He went and sat on the large couch and opened his arms up to me. I shyly went to sit on his lap. He tightened his arms around me and we sat like that for a while. Finally, I got a little uncomfortable and twisted toward him. He misinterpreted the meaning of my movement though. I had been twisting to find a more comfortable position. He thought I had been moving to kiss him. Excitement lit up his eyes and he eagerly brought his mouth to mine. Again, the moment his lips touched mine, an explosion shot through my body. I leaned toward him, and he gently laid back on the couch. I wrapped my arms around him and allowed him to take control.

After several minutes of making out, we both stopped to catch our breath. I laid my head against his chest and closed my eyes. I knew that what I had shared with Christian was special, but it was nothing. Nothing, compared to this. I had always felt that there was a barrier between us that never allowed us to get close enough to each other. I felt no such barrier with Adrian. Wanting more, I brought my lips to Adrian's again. This time, the kiss was sweet and loving. I smiled at him, and he smiled back. Just then, the door banged open. Adrian glanced at it, then grinned and addressed the person who had just walked in.

"What's up, Ozera?" He asked. I froze. What was with him and storming in on people who really did not want to be interrupted? He stumbled into the room. I sat up and realized immediately that he was drunk.

"What the hell are you doing with my girlfriend!?" he yelled at Adrian.

"You're girlfriend? I was under the impression that she was mine now!" I glared at them both.

"Adrian, shut up for a minute. Christian, you broke up with me! I'm sorry that you might now regret that, but I've moved on. Maybe you should too." He stared at me in shock. I felt bad, but he had to move on like I had. It wasn't good for him to be like this.

"Wow Lissa. I thought we had something. I thought you had a heart. I thought you'd take me back. I guess I was wrong." And with that, he left the room. I looked from where Adrian lay beneath me, to the door where Christian had just left. Tears filled my eyes. I knew who I wanted to be with, but it hurt me to see Christian hurting like this. He never got drunk, and now, I was the cause of it. Adrian sat up and wrapped his arms around me, saying nothing, as I cried against his shoulder.


	7. Shout Out!

Shout out to silencingvana and shadowkissed79! Thanks for all the great comments and words of encouragement! You're most of the reason we keep going! Hope you enjoy these long awaited chapters! We are sooooooooo sorry that it took so long!

Love you guys,

Marie and Anastasia


	8. Chapter 7

Chapter Eight

With so much excitement over Christian and Stefan's relationship, everyone was getting along perfectly. Christmas Break was coming up soon and everyone was planning vacations. My relationship with Adrian was going excellently, and I was thinking about what I could get him for Christmas. Two days before Christmas break, Adrian asked me, Rose, Dimitri, Eddie, and Stan to meet with him. I was completely confused. Rose, Eddie, and me? I could understand. But Dimitri and Stan? No good answer for them. We all met in the main lobby. I sat by Rose as Adrian got up and made sure everyone was there.

"Hey, everyone. I'm sure you're all rather confused about why I asked to talk to you, but it involves my girlfriend's Christmas present." I looked up at him stunned. He needed this many people? He grinned at me. "I would like to bring her to my ranch in Oklahoma over Christmas break, and I figured she would be happier if Rose came too." Rose stared at him, stunned. She was thrilled, I could tell. She loved Oklahoma and ranches. She especially loved horses. I hoped there would be a chance to ride. "I would also really like it if Lissa was well protected outside of school, so that's why the rest of you are here. I would really appreciate it if you could all come with us also." Everyone around me glanced at each other, extremely surprised. Dimitri spoke up, and I figured the reason for inviting Dimitri was for Rose's benefit.

"Adrian, I would be honored to accompany you and guard the Princess." Then, Stan agreed with him.

"It would be my pleasure." He said politely. Everyone stared at Eddie.

"Uh… Yeah. Sure. Sounds like fun!" Everyone laughed. I turned my eyes toward Adrian and I saw him staring at me. I got up, ran to him, and kissed him on the lips in front of everyone. I heard Eddie wolf-whistle and everyone laughed and clapped. You would have thought that we were getting married. I grinned and leaned back from Adrian. He smiled at me and whispered in my ear,

"Don't worry. That's not the end of your presents. There will still be a surprise waiting for you." I smiled at him.

"I can't wait. It was good of you to invite Dimitri for Rose. Thank you." He smiled at me again.

"Anything to make you happy." I smiled up at him and kissed him quickly.

"Alright!" I said as I addressed the whole crowd. "Two days till Christmas break and we have a lot to do! Let's go!" Everyone laughed again and left. Rose came up to Adrian and me, and to my surprise, hugged him tight.

"Change of heart little Dhampir?" he asked.

"Thank you for inviting Dimitri and me. It means a lot."

"No problem. I thought that would make you happy. I have another present for you too," he said.

"Really!? Thanks!" She grinned at him.

"Alright, alright." I said, interrupting them. "Hands off my boyfriend." I said jokingly. Rose let go of him and came and hugged me instead. She put her arm around my waist and I leaned my head on her shoulder.

"We are going to have so much fun!" she squealed. I had never heard Rose so excited before. I guess it was the opportunity to be with Dimitri for two whole weeks.

"I know Rose! When are we leaving, Adrian?" I looked at him hoping that he would say soon.

"Tomorrow."

"Tomorrow!?" Rose and I said in surprise.

"Tomorrow. I… talked to Kirova a little this morning and she agreed. She's also given us the rest of today off to pack." He grinned evilly at us.

"Adrian! You can't use compulsion on people like that!" I said grinning, secretly proud of him.

"Are you objecting?" he said, coming closer. Rose let go of me, seeing where it was going before I did. He leaned down and kissed me hard. I looked up breathless after a minute.

"Nope. Definitely not objecting." I said. He grinned at me.

"Good, because if you were, I would've just dragged you there anyway."

"Now that would be a funny sight to see." Rose said, grinning at me.

'Wow. Thanks Rose." I laughed. We were going to have so much fun.


	9. Chapter 8

We spent the rest of that day packing for our vacation to Oklahoma. Lissa was so excited, that I felt it loud and clear through the bond, and it got me even more excited too. I shoved all the pairs of jeans I owned into my suitcase, along with several sweatshirts, and all of my long-sleeved shirts. Two weeks was a long time, and I wanted to be prepared. When we were finally completely packed, we all met in the lobby again to get the details.

"Alright," said Adrian. "We'll meet here tomorrow morning at nine o'clock. I then have arranged for a private jet to take us to the ranch. It's a pretty short flight, and we should make it there at about one. We're going to stay in a few separate cabins, and yes, everyone gets their own room. We will probably be horseback riding, so bring appropriate clothes. Any questions?" He looked around, but no one asked anything. It was pretty straightforward.

We left our luggage there and went back to our dorm rooms. I had been kind of worried that Christian would feel insulted that he and Stefan weren't invited, but they were actually fine with it. They told us to have fun for them, and they would see us in two weeks. We got to bed early that night, eager for the morning. I could feel Lissa's anticipation through the bond for this two weeks, and I hoped for Adrian's sake that it was as good as he said. I woke up the next morning to my alarm clock buzzing. I groaned and got out of bed, and then remembered what we were doing today. I quickly changed clothes and yanked a brush through my hair. When I deemed myself presentable, I ran out to the lobby. Dimitri and Stan were already there, and I went to stand by Dimitri. Stan rolled his eyes at us. I could almost feel Dimitri's excitement. Soon after I arrived, Lissa came running down the steps with Adrian close behind her. I checked my watch. Nine o'clock exactly. With Adrian leading the way, we grabbed our suitcases and left the building. There was a small jet sitting on the sprawling lawn of St. Vladimir's. We handed our suitcases to one of the guys standing by the plane and clambered in. The guardians sat together and Liss went to sit by Adrian, so I picked the seat next to Eddie. I figured this would probably be a good time to mention that I was desperately in love with Dimitri, since he was going to be spending two weeks with us. After I told him the whole story, he stared at me with wide eyes then whistled.

"Wow. Never saw that one coming. But hey, if it works out, I'm glad for you guys." I smiled at Eddie. He was really a great guy. Only he could accept something like this so easily. For about an hour, we sat there not talking, but when Dimitri came over, Eddie immediately got up and excused himself to go to the bathroom. Dimitri watched him leave then turned to me with raised eyebrows.

"He knows?" he asked me. I grinned.

"Yeah, he knows. I figured it wouldn't be nice if he was the only one who didn't know on this trip. Here." I scooted over a seat to let Dimitri sit down. Even though we weren't out in public, it still felt weird to have people know about our relationship.

"Thanks." He sat down next to me and we fell into silence. Without even realizing it, I reached over and took his hand in mine. He looked at me a bit surprised, but took my hand and squeezed it gently. I leaned my head against his shoulder and was happy that just for a few days, we could be together officially. I then fell asleep for the rest of the trip.

I woke up to Dimitri shaking my shoulder gently and murmuring,

"Roza, Roza. Wake up." I groggily opened my eyes to find myself wrapped in his long, brown cowboy duster. My head was still on his shoulder and his hand was now on mine.

"Hey, Dimitri. Are we there?" I looked out of the plane and saw a large barn and a few small cabins, just like Adrian had described. There was a large stretch of woods behind that, and it looked like a perfect place for a romantic walk… "I didn't even need to ask that." I grinned up at him. I sat up straight and stretched, hearing my bones crack. Dimitri held his hand out to me like a gentleman and pulled me gently out of my seat and into his arms. He gave me a warm hug and we stood like that for a minute before Adrian came by and whistled at us. I grinned at him, and he grinned back.

"Oh, shove it, Adrian. Go find Lissa." He waggled his eyebrows at me.

"Oh, I think I will, little Dhampir… I think I will." And with that, he left, and I watched him hop off the plane.

"Shall we?" Asked Dimitri, offering his arm to me. I smiled at him.

"I think we shall." I replied, looping my arm through his. We stepped off the plane into the bright sunshine, and I saw Adrian with Lissa in his arms, twirling her around. Eddie was talking to Stan, and the guys who had taken our luggage before were taking them to separate cabins. I wondered how the placing would be. I thought I would have to insist to be with Lissa, when Adrian saw me looking at the cabins, and said,

"Don't worry, little Dhampir. We have it all straightened out. There are four rooms per cabin with an extra for a feeder. You and Liss have an adjoining room, and Dimitri is in the one next to you. Then I'm in the other cabin with Stan and Eddie." I could tell he wasn't exactly pleased with the fact that he wasn't in the same cabin as Liss, but it seemed to me that there were two guardians/novices per moroi. And this is how it had worked out. I was thrilled. This is exactly how I would've planned it myself. We got into the cabins and found our rooms, and I saw that the cabins weren't huge, but they were cozy. In the main room, there was a fireplace and next to that room, there was a kitchen. I sure as hell hoped Lissa and Dimitri could cook, because I couldn't. We unpacked and got our rooms situated the way we wanted them, when Adrian told us that we had a surprise waiting for us. We shot out of our rooms faster than I would've thought possible. We went outside, and I was pleased to realize that the air was cold, but not freezing. It was perfect.

"Alright everyone. I really wanted to make your stay here fun, so I have a little surprise; a second Christmas gift. Now, if you could all go into the barn and look around until you find your name on one of the stalls, that would be great." Lissa and I looked at each other in confusion, but we did as Adrian asked. There were two rows of stalls lining the walls of the barn, and I looked carefully at each one to see if my name was on it. They all held horses, but as I went down the line, none of them had my name on it. Were these the horses that we were going to ride? I noticed Dimitri walking next to me not finding his name either, when at the very last stall, I found it. Rose Hathaway was printed on a sheet of paper next to a nameplate that said Storm. I looked up into the stall and saw a beautiful, pitch-black horse standing there quietly, looking at me. Its eyes were as black as coal, and its long mane had a beautiful wave to it. There was a small, white star in the middle of its forehead. It looked me straight in the eye, and I was struck by how calm it looked. It was a large animal, but it looked incredibly peaceful at the moment.

"Ah, so you've met Storm. Beauty, isn't she? She's a Friesian, my favorite breed." I turned around to see Adrian looking at the horse.

"She's gorgeous!" I exclaimed, barely managing to keep my voice low. He grinned at me. For some reason, horses were the only animals that didn't shy away from dhampirs. I, of course, took advantage of this and rode every chance I got.

"I know. Have you ridden before?"

"Have I ridden? I love riding! I haven't ridden in a while, but I remember it from when I was a little younger. It's one of the best feelings in the world to me. This is a great Christmas present… horseback riding… Is this the horse I get to ride?" I looked at him hopefully.

"I'll explain it all in a minute. Go and see all the other horses, and then I'll explain." He left without another word. I regretfully left Storm to go see Dimitri's horse, which was across from mine. A beautiful blue roan stood in the stall. Dimitri was petting its nose and murmuring words to it in Russian.

"Who is this?" I asked, coming up behind him.

"Midnight. A mustang stallion." I looked slightly warily at Midnight, knowing exactly how temperamental a stallion could be. Dimitri grinned at my expression.

"I know. I thought the same thing too when Adrian told me he was a stallion, but he's surprisingly gentle… for now. Which one had your name on it?" I pointed across the barn to Storm and I heard Dimitri suck in a breath.

"Wow…. It's gorgeous."

"She. Her name's Storm." We went over to see the beautiful horse.

"Wow. She's impressive. Shall we go see the others?"

"Sure." I replied. We went over to where Lissa was stroking a gorgeous black and white pinto. "Hey, Liss. What's her name?"

"Artemis. She's beautiful, isn't she?" She was right. Artemis was truly beautiful, and powerfully built, but looked exceedingly gentle.

"Totally, Liss." We left Lissa to go see Eddie and Stan's horses. They were almost identical appaloosas with white hair and a quite a few black spots that looked like polka dots. I grinned at Eddie and Stan.

"Who's this?" I asked Eddie. He replied with a laugh.

"This is Ares. And that's Aphrodite." He said pointing to Stan's horse. "They're twins." I started laughing.

"That's adorable! They're gorgeous horses. Very nice!"

"Totally you guys." Said Dimitri. Then he looked over at Stan's horse and didn't seem to be able to help himself. "Nice horse, Stan. Name fits your personality." We walked away laughing our heads off, leaving Stan with a murderous look on his face. We came to the last stall and saw a beautiful, cream horse standing inside. It had an unbelievably long mane and tail that reached down to its knees. Adrian was inside brushing it.

"Hey, Adrian. Is this your horse?" I asked curiously. It didn't seem like a very Adrian-like horse. It looked lightly built and more for show than anything.

"Yup. This is Prancer." He said with pride. "My perfect horse. He's built for speed and racing. Not the strongest horse, but that's okay with me." He continued brushing the horse. "You know, could you tell everyone to halter the horse they were assigned to and bring them out? And help whoever needs it." I looked at him in surprise.

"Sure, Adrian."

"No problem." Said Dimitri.

"Thanks you guys. I have to finish brushing Prancer. They others are already groomed." We walked out of the stall and passed the news onto the others. They all seemed sure they could do it on their own, so we headed back to our horses. I was still unsure whether or not Storm would like me, so I entered her stall slowly and let her sniff my hand. She pushed her head up against it and I took that as a good sign. I stroked her long, glossy neck and took the black halter down from the peg on the wall. I slipped it on over her head and gently fastened it. It blended right in with the color of her coat. She nuzzled my shoulder gently, and I scratched her ears. I would be sad to say good-bye to her when the two weeks ended. I opened the stall door and lead her out into the hall. She followed right behind me, but kept snorting and trying to pull back to where Dimitri was leading his horse out of his stall. I paused and waited for Dimitri to catch up, and as soon as Midnight was next to her, she calmed down and walked quietly. I caught Dimitri's eye and grinned. He grinned back at me. I was pretty sure we were thinking the same thing. Our horses were "together" or however you would call two horses dating. I started laughing at the thought. And Dimitri looked at me curiously. I shook my head at him and we lead our horses out into the corral. We were the first ones out there, but soon, everyone else was there too. Adrian followed everyone else out and came to stand in front of us.

"Alright, everyone. Do you like your Christmas presents?" We all nodded in enthusiastically. Having a horse to ride for two whole weeks was amazing. "Now, there's a little problem with this present. These horses are not yours for the two weeks." We all looked at him in confusion. We knew that these horses weren't our. We were just borrowing them. "They aren't yours for two weeks. They're yours forever." We all looked at him in astonishment. He couldn't be serious. There was no way in hell that he had bought us all horses.

"Are you serious, Adrian?" I asked him. He smiled happily.

"Completely and totally. Say hello to your new horses." I smiled hugely at him, then gave the lead rope to Dimitri and ran up and hugged him. This was probably the best Christmas present anyone could've ever given me.

"Thank you so much Adrian." He smiled warmly at me.

"No problem, little Dhampir. I thought you would like her."

"I love her Adrian. This is an amazing present." He kissed the top of my head and I went back to Storm. I took the lead rope from Dimitri, and he eyed me with surprise.

"What was that about?" he asked curiously.

"Nothing really, but I didn't know that Adrian could be this kind and considerate. He's good for Lissa. I just thought I should say thank you. That's all."

"That's all?" I detected a hint of jealously in his voice, so I leaned forward and kissed him.

"That's all." He smiled and gave me a quick hug. I turned back to Storm and began stroking her long, beautiful mane.


	10. Chapter 9

Adrian spoke again.

"Alright, if you could all go back into the barn and saddle and bridle your horses, that would be greatly appreciated. I'll be around to help if anyone needs it." He went around us and back into the stables. I turned Storm around and headed back to her stall. I tied her up to the bar of the window went outside again, and carefully got the saddle and saddle pads down from the rack outside the stall. I saddled and bridled her, and noticed that I was the first one finished. I looked across the barn to where Dimitri was trying (unsuccessfully) to bridle his horse. Midnight kept throwing his head up whenever Dimitri would try to get the bit in his mouth. His ears were laid completely back. I grinned and untied Storm and went to help him. He was gritting his teeth and muttering, "Come on Midnight, easy boy," over and over. I smiled and let myself into the stall. Dimitri started a little when I got in, but handed me the bridle.

"You try," he said. "This is impossible." I carefully went up to Midnight and put my hand out gently to stroke his face. His ears perked up slightly.

"Shhh…. It's okay…" I put my arm up around his face and held the bridge of his nose tightly in the hand that held the bridle strap. With my other hand I carefully held the bit close to his mouth. I saw his ears go back, and I began stroking his nose. He calmed down slightly, and I managed to slide the bit into his mouth. I brought the strap up and over his ears and put the reigns over the saddle horn. I stroked Midnight, and he nuzzled my hand. I turned to Dimitri with smile. I had actually succeeded in something he couldn't do. He was watching me and then he grinned.

"Congratulations," he said. " I was worried you were going to get your hand bitten off." I laughed.

"Not me. This is the one thing I can do right. Deal with horses." I smiled and petted Midnight.

"It's not the only thing you can do right," he murmured, and leaned forward, wrapped his arms around my waist, and kissed me. A loud throat clearing interrupted us. It was Stan. I blushed crimson and I saw Dimitri look at Stan sheepishly.

"Sorry, Stan. I was thanking Rose for helping me bridle Midnight." Stan rolled his eyes and said,

"Lord Ishakov wants everyone to meet outside when their horses are bridled." Once he had left, Dimitri and I glanced at each other and started laughing. I went back to Storm's stall and got her out. She was very powerfully built with strong muscles underneath her skin. She would be an extremely fast runner. She wasn't nearly as lightly built as Prancer, but I was sure she would still be fast. And that was just what I needed. I led her back outside and went to stand by Lissa and Artemis. She grinned at me excitedly, and petted Artemis. I smiled happily. She was having such a good time.

"Could everyone mount please?" asked Adrian. "We're going for a ride." I put my foot in the stirrup when I felt Lissa's anxiousness through the bond. She was a little uncomfortable with mounting, and Artemis was a tall horse. I walked over to her and she smiled gratefully at me.

"Leg up?" I asked her.

"That would be great." I laced my fingers together and helped her up into the saddle. She looked so regal sitting up high; I felt a rush of affection for my best friend. By now, I was the last one still on the ground so I swung myself up into the saddle quickly. Adrian led the way out of the corral and onto the field. I was next to Lissa and Eddie, and Dimitri and Stan were behind us, keeping an eye on the surroundings. I rode up to Adrian and he looked over and smiled.

"Like you're present, little Dhampir?" I grinned at him.

"I love it. But do you think you guys will be fine if Dimitri and I take off for a little bit. I want to see who would win in a race." I had been thinking about this since I had seen the horses. I would love to just compete for fun. Our lives didn't depend on the outcome, and I wanted to just be with him for a little while. Just having fun like two normal people.

"No problem. Just tell Stan. We'll be fine. I promise." I smiled gratefully at him.

"Thanks so much, Adrian." I gently squeezed Storm's flanks and turned her back to the end of the group. "Stan, Adrian said it would be fine if Dimitri and I went off for a little bit. You and Eddie can keep an eye on them, right?"

"Of course. You two behave yourselves." He said like he was so much older than we were. But I realized that he was relaxing a little. He wasn't so uptight. I nodded to Dimitri and he followed me curiously. I clicked to Storm and she started trotting. I urged her into a canter and she obeyed willingly. I could hear Dimitri following behind me and I smiled. I was going to whoop his ass.

"Alright, Guardian Belikov. You might be able to beat me in field training, but there's no way in hell you're going to win now. Race to the far end of the field and back. Good luck." I said grinning. He stared at me then trotted to the edge of the field.

"Come on! Are you scared?" he asked tauntingly.

"Don't you wish!" I yelled back. "Ready, set, go!" I kicked Storm and she shot forward. I urged her into a fast canter, and then, knowing I was probably testing my luck with a horse I didn't know, I asked her to gallop. She shot across the field and I risked a glance back. Dimitri was behind me, but quickly gaining ground. A wild mustang, even if it was tamed now, knew how to run. Leaning down over Storm, I coaxed her as fast as she could go. Dimitri was coming up right behind me, and I shouted back,

"You're getting beaten by a girl, Belikov!" I heard him grunt and the thundering hoof beats closed in on me. With one last burst of speed, Storm made it to the end of the field a half a second before Midnight did. I quickly slid off Storm's back and rubbed her sweaty neck. She was breathing hard, but she turned her head to nuzzle my hand. I leaned my head against her neck, somehow exhausted even though I had only been sitting there. Dimitri came up behind me and put his hand on my shoulder.

"Nicely raced, Rose. But I was sure I had you there at the end!"

"Ha, ha! Never!" I grinned victoriously up at him, and he backed up and held his arms open. I glanced at him, unsure for a second, before running and jumping into his arms. I wrapped my legs around his waist and he brought his lips to mine and held me like that for several minutes. Finally, we broke apart and went back to our horses. We walked back through the field to give our horses a rest and met up with the rest of the group. Adrian glanced at the horses and said,

"You really must've raced hard. They look exhausted." I looked sheepishly at him.

"Sorry, Adrian. They are tired, but they raced well." I rubbed Storm's neck and she whinnied softly.

"Don't apologize, they're your horses now, not mine. Do you like her?" He looked at me carefully, and I guessed he was studying my aura.

"I absolutely love her, Adrian. She's beautiful. Thank you."

"You're welcome, little Dhampir. Your aura is streaked with gold much more than normal. You're having a good time?"

"The best time of my life, Adrian. I'm here with my best friends, a beautiful horse that is now mine, and my amazing boyfriend. What more could I ask for?" He pretended to think for a minute before answering.

"Hmmm…not much I guess." I laughed and smiled at him and though, for now at least, my life was pretty damn good.


	11. Chapter 10

Chapter 11

We got back to our cabins that night and I collapsed in my bed. I heard a knock on the door that connected Rose and my rooms, and she came in.

"Lissa, I have the best idea. But I might need your compulsion skills." I looked at her warily, but she was so excited that I couldn't refuse.

"Alright, Rose. What's your idea?" She laughed.

"Two words. Truth or dare!"

"That's three words Rose…" She stared at me then laughed again.

"Whatever. Will you compel whoever won't agree?" She looked eagerly at me.

"Fine! But this is so not going to be good!" I reluctantly agreed. I sighed and got up.

"No, but it's going to be very interesting." We walked out of my room and into the hearth room where Dimitri was reading one of his cowboy novels. Rose ran up to him and sat on his lap.

"Dimitri, I have a brilliant idea." He looked at her warily like I had, knowing that some of her ideas weren't always safe.

"What is it, Rose?" he asked nervously.

"Lissa and I are going to play truth or dare and you have to play with us." Dimitri stared at her uncomprehendingly.

"What? I don't really want to play truth or dare, Rose." She immediately leaned forward, wrapped her arms around his neck, and kissed him hard. She leaned back.

"Please, Dimitri? It would mean a lot to me." I rolled my eyes at her own form of compulsion. Dimitri groaned and got up off the sofa, lifting Rose with him.

"Fine, Roza. Are we subjecting the other cabin to this also?" Rose grinned evilly at him.

"Of course, Dimitri. It wouldn't be fun otherwise." She said. He groaned again. Dimitri escorted us to the other cabin. Rose knocked on the door and Stan answered.

"Hello, Miss Hathaway. What can I do for you and the Princess?"

"We would really like to play truth or dare since we're camping, and we would love if you would play with us." I might've been imagining the double meaning in her voice. He looked at her like she was going crazy.

"I'm sorry, Miss Hathaway. I can't tonight." I sent, now? through the bond and she nodded discretely.

"Please, Guardian Alto? It would mean a lot to me." I saw his eyes glaze over, and he nodded vaguely.

"Of course, Princess. I would be honored." He led us back to the hearth room, and I saw Adrian and Eddie already sitting there. Rose ran up to them and said excitedly,

"Come on, guys. We're going to play truth or dare." Adrian's eyes lit up, but Eddie sank down into his seat.

"I'd really rather not, Rose. It's been a long day." I rolled my eyes again, and walked in front of him.

"Eddie, you know you want to, just agree." His eyes glazed over like normal, and he agreed. We walked back to our cabin, with Adrian carrying me on his back. I leaned my head on his shoulder, and smiled, knowing Rose, he wouldn't be in a good mood much longer. We got back to our cabin and sat in a circle by the fireplace. Stan was standing by where Dimitri was sitting with Rose on his lap just like the badass guardian he was. Rose grinned in anticipation and said,

"Adrian, why don't you go first?" He nodded and grinned evilly.

"Belikov, truth or dare." I saw Dimitri visibly swallow, and I realized this was the first he actually looked nervous.

"Dare," he said bravely. I heard Adrian chuckle in anticipation.

"The love of your life, Rose, has to go dress in lingerie and come lay on the sofa. You, my friend, can only kiss her once for a few seconds, and then you have to keep your hands off her for the rest of this game. Plus she has to keep that position unless she's dared to do something else." Everyone but Stan and Dimitri laughed, but Rose looked a little pale.

"Liss, come with me to pick something out." I walked with her to her room.

"God, I'm glad I packed my entire lingerie drawer! I didn't know if I would have any use for it, but now, it looks I do." She moaned. I went to her dresser, and she pointed to the bottom one. I went through it trying to find something that covered up her midsection. I would try to conserve her modesty as much as possible, but as I looked through the selection, there wasn't anything that did that. I pulled out a lacy, black push-up bra, and matching panties. She groaned when saw what I had picked, and I grinned and through them to her. I ran back to mine room quickly while she changed and came back with my black, satin robe. She was standing there looking utterly mortified and I laughed at her. I walked over and yanked the ponytail holder out of her hair. It now had a slight wave to it, and cascaded down around her face. I grinned evilly. Dimitri was going to have a hard time resisting this.

"Good luck, Rose. Throw this on till the very last moment. Then, you can use this to cover up one you're done with you dare. Have fun!" We walked out to face a group of guys.


	12. Chapter 11

Chapter Twelve

DPOV

Oh. My. God. Were they trying to kill me? There was no way I could keep off of her the entire game with her looking like that. And she even had a robe on. I thought back to the night where Victor's lust spell and driven us nearly to insanity, and I doubted it could've been better than this. She walked over and sat on the couch, looking extremely nervous. I saw Adrian smirking, and barely controlled myself. I wanted so bad to go over and rip his head off. But I was slightly thankful, because I didn't know if I would get to see this otherwise. Adrian grinned widely.

"Alright, Rose. It is time to reveal all." I saw her look at him with hate, and look at Lissa for sympathy. She shrugged apologetically. She closed her eyes slipped off the robe. She looked so gorgeous and sexy, that I could barely contain myself from rushing over and…. I couldn't let my thoughts go there, because I might listen to them and not complete the dare. I walked slowly over.

"Come on Rose," said Adrian. "You've got to lay down." She glared at him and lay down on the couch. I lay down next to her and decided to make the best out of my three seconds, and brought my lips to hers. Adrian began counting.

"One…. Two…." My time was almost up, so I kissed her as urgently as I could.

"Three." I groaned and brought my lips away from hers, but she grabbed the hair at the base of my neck and pulled me close again. It wasn't my fault if she didn't stop at three. It wasn't her dare. I happily began kissing her again, until Adrian yanked me off of her. She grabbed the robe from Lissa and eagerly put it on again. She looked after me sadly, and I figured my thoughts were inline with hers. Now, I would get payback from Adrian.

"Stan, truth or dare?" He glared at me.

"Dare," he said, and I assumed it was so he didn't seem weak.

"Stan, your dare is to make out with Princess Vasilisa for fifteen seconds." Adrian shot out of his chair and exclaimed,

"Are you out of your mind?!"

"Nope. Just getting payback." I glanced at Lissa apologetically and said, "Sorry, Lissa. A guy's got to do what a guy's got to do." She groaned and walked over to Stan.

"Eddie, would you please keep an eye on your watch to see when they're done?" He grinned at me.

"Sure, Dimitri. I would be happy to." He looked at his watch and counted down.

"Five, four, three two one." Stan put his hands on Lissa's shoulders awkwardly, and brought his lips to hers. This kissed uncomfortably for a few seconds, before I turned my gaze towards Adrian. He had the most murderous look on his face, and his hands were gripping the armrests so hard, his knuckles turned white.

"Alright, you're done!" said Eddie, and Lissa rushed over to Adrian, jumped into his lap, and kissed him hard. I turned my attention towards Stan and he was staring at Eddie. I could almost read his mind, and I knew that Eddie was going to be in for it.


	13. Chapter 12

Chapter Thirteen

RPOV

I was still mortified about Stan seeing me in practically nothing, when he spoke.

"Eddie. Truth or dare?" He gulped.

"Truth."

"Are you attracted to Lissa?" He asked. I grinned, knowing this answer. It was stupid of Stan to ask this. Eddie swallowed and I suddenly felt nervous.

"Yeah," he whispered, barely audible. I quickly glanced at Adrian to see his reaction, and his mouth was open in a perfect "O". He glared at Eddie jokingly, and then laughed.

"Sorry, Eddie. You're not getting her." I laughed at Eddie's mortified expression, and then said,

"Come, on Eddie, ask a question." He glanced at Lissa quickly, and then grinned.

"Lissa, truth or dare?"

"Dare," she said mischievously.

"C'mon guys. Let's go think." Eddie said standing up; "We will see you once we think of a dare. Until then… Find something to entertain yourselves." Eddie grinned and beckoned to Dimitri, Stan, and Adrian. They followed him into the kitchen and we glanced at each other nervously.

"This is not going to be good," said Lissa unhappily.

"Knowing Adrian… I'm sorry, but I don't think there is a bright side to this." I said apologetically. Just after I had said this, the boys came striding back into the room. Eddie had a cocky smile on his face. Adrian was looking pleased. Dimitri looked uncomfortable. Stan looked disgusted. Whatever the dare was Lissa was surely in for it.

"Alright, Lissa," said Eddie, "Your dare is to…." Eddie paused dramatically. "Is to go get your horse, Artemis, and ride her around the cabins." He stopped there, and I felt Lissa relax slightly. "But, you have to do so topless." She stared at him in shock and he started laughing evilly.

"You have to be kidding me!" she shouted.

"Nope, babe. We're one hundred percent serious. I bet I'm not the only one who's looking forward to this." Said Adrian grinning happily. Lissa groaned and looked at me for help. Personally, I didn't know if this was worse than my dare, but she seemed to think it was.

"Sorry, Liss. It's a dare." I said, only slightly sympathetically. She groaned again and went to the stables.

"Rose, come help me. The faster I get this over with, the better." I laughed at her mortification and ran to help her. I saddled her horse quickly while she bridled her. Grimacing, she mounted and rode her out of the barn. Adrian ran up to her, and said,

"Come on, let's go! But wait, you have to ride bareback." She looked nervously at me.

"I don't really know how to do that."

"Chill," I said. "It's not too hard. Just hold onto the mane." She groaned and kicked Artemis back to the stables quickly. We worked on unsaddling her. She mounted for the second time and headed out. She went behind the cabins and came out a few seconds later. I started cracking up and ran inside the cabin. I would let Adrian have his moment. I could hear him wolf whistling outside the cabin, and I felt complete embarrassment through the bond. As I heard someone come through the front door, I went to sit on the couch to wait for Lissa's torture to end. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Dimitri walk towards the hearth room. I sat up quickly and smiled at him.

"Hey," I said cheerfully. He returned my smile but didn't say anything. I suddenly knew my mind was on the same track as his. The guys were all outside and they'd be gone for a while. I stood up quickly and stared at him uncertainly. I blushed as I realized I was still in the black satin robe. It had come slightly untied and revealed a little of the lingerie. I stared at him a second longer before he took two long strides and pressed his lips to mine gently. I was surprised because I had expected him to be more outgoing. But the kiss was sweet and gentle and loving. We wrapped our arms around each other and were comforted by the other's presence. The door flew open and we jumped apart. In strode a very embarrassed Lissa, a cocky Adrian, and a slightly nauseated Stan. Eddie came a few seconds later trying hard not to crack up. Adrian tsked as soon as he saw how close Dimitri and I were. I could see Lissa walk over to Adrian. She walked in front of him and wrapped her arms around Adrian's neck.

"C'mon Adrian. Rose and Dimitri were just talking. Let's continue with this game." Lissa said quietly. She quickly pecked Adrian's lips. We thought that if Adrian or Lissa tried using compulsion on each other it most likely wouldn't work. Too bad for Adrian, he didn't have this kind of control over Lissa. Lissa had developed more than one type of compulsion. Aw! My baby was learning so fast.

"Ok, babe. Your wish is my command." Adrian said.

"Alright. Who to choose, who to choose?" Lissa said mischievously.

"ME! ME! ME!" I yelled. Lissa giggled.

"Ok, Rose Hathaway, truth or dare?" Lissa said acting all serious.

"Hmm. Let me think about that for a second," I paused briefly, "dare."

"Adrian, could you join me in the kitchen to plot?" Lissa said running her hands through

Adrian's hair. His eyes closed and he grabbed her around her waist.

"Of course. See you soon guys." Adrian said taking his hands off of Lissa's waist and taking her hand instead. They walked into the kitchen and shut the door.


	14. Chapter 13

Chapter Fourteen

"Lissa. We need to come up with something really good." Adrian said. He was sitting at the little table a few feet from me. I quickly walked up to Adrian and sat on his lap. We sat like that for a few moments.

"You're right. Considering the..." I paused. Thinking about the dare the guys had thought up for me. I shuddered mentally, "lovely dare you thought of for me. I thought perhaps we could think of something for Rose." I turned my head so that we were looking at each other. Adrian had this weird look in his eyes. He was looking at me with adoring eyes. I was really confused. Adrian sighed happily then spoke,

"Where have you been all my life?" I giggled and looked away from his face.

"Adrian!" I said pretending to be mad. The truth was I could never really be mad at him.

"Can we please stay on topic here?"Adrian sounded truly surprised.

"How do you expect me to focus on Rose with you right here?" I knew I was kind of pretty, but when standing next to Rose? I felt invisible. Rose was gorgeous! All the guys loved her. I was second when standing next to her, but while here with Adrian he made me feel beautiful. He made me feel that I could do anything!

"Um... Try? I mean come on don't you want to dare her to do something? Haven't you been waiting for this?" I looked up at Adrian again.

"No. I haven't wanted to make Rose do something. But there is something I have been wanting to do." Before I could respond, Adrian's mouth was all over mine. I quickly changed my position so that I was now straddling Adrian. We kissed passionately for a few moments only to be interrupted by a knock at the door.

"Excuse me, Princess? Lord Ivashkov? I hope I'm not interrupting anything. Do you mind if I come in?" Stan said. I quickly hopped off of Adrian's lap and went to the door.

"Guardian Alto, no we don't mind. You might be able to help us too." I said cheerfully.

"I'm sorry for intruding, Princess. I just felt I had to keep an eye on you. Lord Ivashkov, are you ready to make Rose pay?" Stan said grinning.

"You know it!" said Adrian happily. He was acting like nothing had happened.

"Alright you guys," I said impatiently. "We need a really good dare." I looked at all of them carefully until I saw Stan's face light up.

"I have one. This may break the rules of guarding, but it will be fun to watch." I grinned at him in anticipation.

"Alright. Here's my plan."


	15. Chapter 14

Chapter Fifteen

RPOV

I didn't want to know what Lissa, Adrian and Stan were planning, but I laid down on the couch like a good girl anyway, and stared at Dimitri. He was clearly thinking about something else and was staring off into space. I studied his profile; his gorgeous brown eyes, long, unruly brown hair, full lips. He was in a black sleeveless shirt and jeans, so I could see his defined muscles. He glanced over and me and saw me watching him. He smiled, and he was no longer gorgeous. He was breathtaking. Just then, Lissa, Adrian, and Stan came out of the room grinning broadly. In her hand, Liss held a small, black cell phone.

"Alright, Rose. Your dare is to call your mom pretending to be a secret admirer. Flirt with her for thirty seconds then hang up. Don't worry, the phone's disposable. She won't know who called." She handed me the phone and I stared at her, dumbstruck. She had to be kidding. She grinned victoriously at me and I groaned. I quickly typed in my mother's number. She answered on the third ring.

"Hello?" I shot a death glare at Lissa before speaking.

"Guardian Hathaway?" I said in my deepest voice. "I would like you to know that I think you are the best guardian that the dhampir world has ever seen. You are strong and sexy. Meet me outside your house at midnight. I love you." I shut the phone with a snap and started laughing as hard as I ever had. Everyone joined in with me and soon, we were all on the floor in a heap. As soon as everyone has settled down, we all got back in our circle. I was on the couch Dimitri to my right resting on the armchair. To the left of Dimitri, Adrian in the leather chair with Lissa in his lap. Watching over the lovely couple was Stan standing right of to the side. On the floor in between Stan and Dimitri sat Eddie.

"Adrian. Truth or dare?" I asked. Lissa looked up at Adrian and he gazed down at her. Without taking his eyes off her, Adrian said,

"Truth."

"Ok then, a question. Hm." I said. I had expected Adrian to pick dare, but I guess he didn't want to get up. Stupid Royal Moroi. Aha! I thought of a perfect question... Adrian was going to lose one great secret.

"Adrian, what is your biggest secret? One that not even Lissa knows." I said. Adrian sighed in relief and put on a smug smile.

"My biggest secret?"

"Come on Adrian! Tell us! You have to." Eddie taunted. I noticed that Dimitri and Stan had gotten very quiet. Stan glared at me, but Dimitri was giving me a ghost of a smile.

"I am very musical. Since I was little I have been playing the guitar and the piano. I also have written some of my own songs." I gaped in surprise. I hadn't thought Adrian would actually tell us a secret.

"Aw, Adrian! That's so adorable!" Lissa squealed. Adrian brought his hands up to her face and softly kissed her forehead.

"So... Is the game over?" Stan asked impatiently.

"Well, everyone has gone. I think it is over. Since it is, I'm going to bed. Night guys." Eddie said.

"I, too, am going to go back to the cabin, " Stan said, "Lord Ivashkov, will you be coming too?"

"Maybe in a little while, Guardian Alto. I am going to stay here." Adrian said confidently.

"As you wish," Stan said bowing respectfully, "Good night everyone. See you in the morning." Eddie and Stan then got up and walked out the door, shutting it quietly.

"C'mon Adrian." Lissa whispered to Adrian. I could only hear what she said because of my dhampir senses, "I want to hear you play something." I saw Adrian look over uncomfortably at the rest of us and I quickly looked down.

"Alright, Liss. Come to my room after everyone else has left." Adrian said nervously. I could feel Lissa's excitement through the bond, and I secretly planned to listen in and make fun of Adrian after this. We all went to our rooms and Lissa came with us. In her excitement, she had forgotten she couldn't lie to me.

"Hey, Rose, I'm going to go brush Artemis. Be back really soon, okay?" I held back a chuckle.

"Sure, Liss. See you soon." She left the room quickly and I went to lie on my bed.


	16. Chapter 15

Chapter Sixteen

I slipped into her head and saw her running towards the other cabin. He knocked on the door and Stan answered.

"Hello, Princess."

"Hey, Stan. I have to ask Adrian a question." He let her in and she made her way through the cabin. She was unsure of which door was his, when he came out of the farthest one on the left.

"Hey, Liss. Come in.," he said gently. She walked into his room and sat on his unmade bed.

"So, what are you going to be playing? I would love to hear something you wrote," she said with anticipation. He turned toward her with a beautiful guitar in his hand.

"Sure. I'll sing one I wrote a couple weeks ago." In her mind, I could hear Lissa thinking that that was about the time they had started going out. But she forced the thought out of her mind and focused on Adrian. He went to sit on the chair at the desk and took a deep breath. He seemed to be nervous. He began to play, and the melody was enchantingly beautiful. The second he opened his mouth and began to sing; she thought she was going to die, and I had to admit, the song was pretty good already.

When I see your smile

Tears run down my face I can't replace

And now that I'm strong I have figured out

How this world turns cold and it breaks through my soul

And I know I'll find deep inside me I can be the one

I will never let you fall

I'll stand up with you forever

I'll be there for you through it all

Even if saving you sends me to heaven

It's okay. It's okay. It's okay.

She gasped as the song went on, his beautiful voice accompanying the guitar perfectly. I had to wonder where the inspiration was for this gorgeous song.

Seasons are changing

And waves are crashing

And stars are falling all for us

Days grow longer and nights grow shorter

I can show you I'll be the one

I will never let you fall (let you fall)

I'll stand up with you forever

I'll be there for you through it all (through it all)

Even if saving you sends me to heaven

Cuz you're my, you're my, my, my true love, my whole heart

Please don't throw that away

Cuz I'm here for you

Please don't walk away and

Please tell me you'll stay, stay

Use me as you will

Pull my strings just for a thrill

And I know I'll be okay

Though my skies are turning gray

I will never let you fall

I'll stand up with you forever

I'll be there for you through it all

Even if saving you sends me to heaven.

The song drew to a close and she wiped the tears from her face embarrassedly. He looked up from his guitar and smiled at her. He seemed nervous, as if he was asking her approval. He set the guitar down on the floor, and she ran and jumped into his lap. She crushed her lips to his, and he responded by wrapping his arms around her waist and holding her tight.

"Did you like it?" he breathed against her lips. She pulled back slightly to look at him in amusement.

"I absolutely loved it. How did you write this?" He looked at her and smiled.

"You. You were my inspiration. I wrote this for you." Her mouth popped open and he laughed, closing it by pressing his lips to hers. I snapped out of her head as soon as that happened, because I could feel where it would be going. I really did not need to watch Lissa's love life. I laid down on my bed and closed my eyes. It had been a long day. I groaned when I realized I was still in my lingerie, but ignored it and rolled over. I was about to fall asleep when I heard a knock on the door. Assuming it would be Lissa coming to tell me she was back, I walked to the door without bothering to put the robe on. I opened it, and saw Dimitri standing there. I froze for half a second before opening the door wider.

"Hey, comrade," I said cheerfully. "What's up?" He was wearing sweats and an undershirt, and it was a surprise to see him look so casual. Not that I minded of course.

"Hey, Roza. I just wanted to come talk to you. We haven't had much time to talk…" he trailed off with a slightly regretful look in his eyes. Sure, we hadn't had time to talk, but I hadn't minded the things we did instead.

"Sure. I feel the same way." I let him into my room and shut the door behind us. He went to sit on the bed and I sat beside him, leaning my head on his shoulder. "So, what did you want to talk about?" I asked curiously. He normally wasn't the one to instigate meetings. That was my department. He looked over at me with a smile on his lips.

"Nothing, really. I just wanted to see you." Those words made my heart flutter, even though it really wasn't a big deal.

"Same to you." I grinned at him, and he reached out and ran a hand through my long, dark

hair. Suddenly, he pushed me back onto the bed, and I froze. Okay… I thought. This was unexpected. But what surprised me even more was when he slid backwards on the bed and pulled my feet up. He began rubbing them and I groaned happily. God I loved this man. His hands were large and strong as he started at my heels and worked his way up to my toes. He grinned at me and brought my feet into his lap. I remembered when Ambrose had given me a foot rub, and how I thought it felt amazing. Well, it was nothing compared to this. But then, he began tickling my feet and I started giggling uncontrollably. He laughed with me as he moved his hands up my calves and thighs to my stomach. He started tickling me again and I started laughing until tears rolled down my cheeks. Finally, he stopped and I gasped for breath.

"That was mean, comrade. And you know it too." But I couldn't be mad at him. He was too gorgeous to stay mad at.

"Aww, you know you liked it, Roza. You were giggling so hard I thought you were going to break a rib." I leaned forward and slapped his arm playfully. He grabbed my fingertips and brought his lips to mine. I groaned and wrapped my arms around his neck. He gently leaned us backward until we were lying on the bed. His hands moved down to my hips and held me against him. After our fierce make out session, we both lay their panting. I brought my hand to his chest and traced his perfect muscles. Somehow, his shirt had come off during making out and his chest was no longer obscured by it. I laid my head on his chest and sighed as I felt his fingers run through my hair. I closed my eyes and felt myself relax like I hadn't in weeks. Suddenly, the door between Lissa and my rooms banged open and she came rushing in. I groaned internally as I took in her mortified expression.


	17. Chapter 16

Chapter Seventeen

"Oh my God. Rose, Dimitri. I'm really sorry." She stammered as she backed out of my room.

"It's okay Lissa," said Dimitri, being the gentleman he was. "I was just leaving." He pushed himself up and off my bed and grabbed his shirt from the floor. "See you later, Lissa…. Rose."

"See you, Dimitri," I said as he walked out the door. He turned back and gave me a smile and a wave. I waved back and turned to a very embarrassed Lissa.

"Rose, I'm so sorry. I should've knocked. I'm sorry I stopped you guys from…" she trailed off, and I realized what she must've seen when she walked in. She saw Dimitri, lying shirtless under me, and me in lingerie laying my head on his chest. Wow. Poor girl must've been traumatized.

"Liss, chill. You weren't stopping us at all. We were done, I swear." She looked uncertainly at me, and I grinned. "Besides, you were having fun with Adrian." She stared at me dumbstruck.

"No, I was with Artemis," she said half-heartedly.

"Liss. It's ok. I know you were with Adrian. You may think that you were quiet but I have very good hearing. Nice try, sweetie." I said laughing. She groaned.

"You're no fun sometimes. I hope you know that, " Lissa said, "How much did you see?"

"Right as you started kissing Adrian after he explained his inspiration I got out of there. I swear."

Lissa sighed.

"It's too hard to keep something a secret around you." I laughed and soon so did she. Soon I began to take in what Lissa looked like at that moment. Her blonde hair was wind blown and her cheeks flushed. I didn't know if the flush was from the run or from Adrian. Her jade green eyes were bright. Then I noticed something. Before Lissa had been wearing jeans, a lacy pink tank, and a green cardigan. I noticed that Lissa didn't have on her tank.

"If you weren't with Adrian then where is your tank top?" I asked. Lissa blushed.

"That's wha-" I was interrupted by a knock at the door. Lissa walked over to the door and opened it wide. Adrian came into the room carrying Lissa's missing tank top.

"Liss," Adrian went over to Lissa and kissed her, "you forgot this over at our cabin." Lissa grew redder. Adrian placed his forehead against Lissa's.

"I missed you, Liss." She laughed.

"I haven't been away for that long Adrian." Adrian pulled Lissa into a hug and whispered into her ear,

"If you aren't right next to me I always miss you."

"Alright, alright. Break it up. We all know you're in love with her, Adrian. No need to make that apparent to the whole world." Lissa reached over and smacked the back of my head playfully.

"Aww, come on Rose. This is nothing compared to what you were doing." She waggled her eyebrows at me suggestively and I saw Adrian grimace.

"Please, Liss. You might know what Rose has been up to, but I certainly don't. Especially when you consider what she's wearing." I groaned and realized that I was still in the black lingerie. I seriously had to change.

"Fine," Adrian said unhappily, "Good night Rose. Lissa, Good night." Adrian leaned in and gave Lissa a quick kiss on the cheek.

"Good night, Adrian. Rose, good night." Lissa said.

"Yeah, yeah I know it's so hard to part. But I will see you guys tomorrow. I think I can get through it." I said. I grabbed Adrian's arm and steered him towards the door. Adrian slowly walked through the door, and I shut it behind him.

"Well, as you said Rose, it's late. I'm going to bed. Good night! Love you girly." Lissa said, now giving me a kiss on the cheek.

"Night, Liss. Talk to you tomorrow."

We both got ready for bed and lay down. Unsure of what the next day held for us...


	18. Chapter 17

Chapter Eighteen

I woke up to the sound of movement in the kitchen. I looked over and saw Lissa still fast asleep. She looked very peaceful. I decided not to wake her just yet. I grabbed Lissa's black robe, the same one I had worn the night before, and walked out of our room.

Out in the kitchen, I saw Dimitri and Stan hard at work. They were making us all breakfast. I was wondering why Stan was over here and left the other cabin. I soon got my answer when I saw Adrian asleep on the couch and Eddie on the floor reading.

"Hey Rose." Eddie said. Once Eddie acknowledged me, Stan and Dimitri looked up and said their good mornings.

"Good morning, Rose." Dimitri said.

"Miss Hathaway." Stan said nodding in my direction. Right away this we all heard mumbling coming from the couch. I walked over to the couch and looked at Adrian.

"Rose?" Adrian said sleepily, "Where's Liss?"

"Good morning, Adrian. Liss is still asleep, if you want to we can go wake her up." I said sarcastically.

"As much fun as that sounds..." I looked up and saw Lissa walking out of our room wrapped in her pink robe. How many robes did she have? "It will not be necessary."

Before Adrian could move towards Liss, Stan was by her side. Guardian reflexes.

"Good morning, Princess." Stan said formally, offering Lissa his arm.

"Thank you. Good morning to you too, Guardian Alto." Lissa said taking Stan's arm. Stan walked Lissa over to the couch where Adrian was sitting. Lissa nodded to Stan, obviously letting him know she was ok. Stan nodded and went back to working in the kitchen. Lissa walked over and sat on Adrian's lap. His arms quickly wrapped around her.

"Good morning, Adrian." Lissa said breathlessly.

"Hey sunshine." He said cheerfully pressing his lips to her forehead.

"God, get a room, you two." I said.

"Well, we do have one. We could always go to it." Adrian said smirking. I rolled my eyes and looked out the window. During the night, it had snowed. A lot. The trees were blanketed in a thick layer of snow. Icicles hung from the branches and the ground glistened like diamonds. The windowpane was frosted and I walked over to it and reached my finger out. I traced a smiley face and a heart on it. I then put Dimitri's name inside the heart. I felt a heavy hand on my shoulder and I turned around to see a grinning Dimitri.

"Good morning, Comrade." He laughed and pulled me in for a hug.

"Hello, Roza. Adrian is planning something special for today, since it's Christmas Eve." I gaped. I'd almost forgotten it was so close to Christmas.

"Ooh…. What is it? I know that you know!" He put a finger to my lips.

"Patience, my Roza. It's a surprise." I pouted and he laughed at me again.

"I don't like surprises though!"

"You'll like this one. For once, I think Adrian's done something good." I laughed at him and headed towards the kitchen. The smell of sausage and pancakes came wafting out to me. I eagerly headed in and saw Stan at the stove with an apron on. I immediately started cracking up.

"Hey, Mom. Whatcha cooking today?" He glared at me.

"If you want breakfast, Hathaway, you'd better shut up." I skipped to the table and sat down

next to Lissa and Dimitri. I leaned over and quickly kissed Dimitri's cheek. Stan walked over with a large plate piled high with pancakes and sausage. I smirked at him, but I was grateful. I couldn't cook, so I was glad someone could. He set the plate down in the center of the table and we all dug in. There was a mixture of chocolate chip, blueberry and cinnamon pancakes, and the sausage was amazing. Thirty minutes later, we all finished and Adrian stood up.

"Alright, come on! It's Christmas Eve and we're going to celebrate! Grab your coats and come on." We all filed after him and out the door. We walked around the back of the cabins, and in front of us stood a huge sleigh with four beautiful Clydesdales tethered to it. Lord, how many horses did this boy have? The sleigh was made out of a mahogany wood and had silver trimmings. The horses all had red and silver harnesses on and their manes and tails were braided intricately. On the sleigh, there were thick red and green woolen blankets. We all clambered up into the seat and I snuggled into Dimitri's side. He wrapped his arm around me and held me close to him. As soon as we were all in, Stan climbed up into the drivers seat and cracked the whip.


	19. Chapter 18

Chapter Nineteen

APOV

I saw Lissa's pure delight as she sat high up in the sleigh. The wind blew her long, blonde hair and turned her cheeks a beautiful shade of pink. She smiled at me happily and I leaned in and kissed her lips. The sleigh ride idea was a perfect idea and everyone was having a great time. Even Belikov. I could see he was perfectly content with his arm around Rose. She had her eyes closed and a peaceful smile on her lips. I used to fantasize about kissing those lips, but not anymore. Lissa was my life now. The horses were now pulling us quickly through the forest and the snow fell from the tree branches as we brushed past. I was still sitting next to Lissa and Dimitri had Rose on his lap and they were kissing. Eddie was sitting behind us looking upset. I couldn't figure out why, but I ignored it. I pulled Lissa onto my lap and brought my lips to hers. I couldn't let Dimitri out-do me. I placed my hand behind her head and brought her face even closer to mine. She moved so that she was straddling me and she wrapped her arms around my neck. I moved my other hand to her waist and finally broke the kiss. I heard Eddie groan behind us and mutter, "get a room." I grinned when I realized Lissa looked guilty. She still wasn't comfortable with kissing in public? I noticed that Dimitri and Rose were still going at it pretty heavily and Stan was keeping his gaze straight ahead. Lissa moved so that she was just sitting on my lap and leaned her head against my shoulder contently. I wrapped my arms around her and closed my eyes. I knew this had to be the best Christmas I had ever had and I hoped it was her best too.

DPOV

With my lips against Rose's and my arms around her waist, I doubted that my life could get much better. Even though I wasn't a huge fan of Adrian, I was so grateful to him for giving us this opportunity to get away. I glanced over at them and saw that Lissa was leaning against his shoulder and Adrian's cheek was against the top of her head. They both had their eyes closed and looked genuinely happy. I smiled against Rose's lips and she looked at me curiously. I leaned back.

"I'm just so happy that you're here with me." She smiled up at me happily and brought her lips back to mine for just a second. She then curled up on my lap like a cat and grinned up at me. I ran my hands through her hair and smiled back. We were out of the forest now and into an open field. She sat up and looked around happily. It had begun to snow and the soft crystals fell around us gently. She opened her mouth up and caught a flake on her tongue. I laughed at her and she shoved me.

"Oh shut up, Dimitri. Might as well take advantage of the moment. Go ahead and try." I raised my eyebrow at her and shook my head.

"No way, Rose. You might look good doing it, but I won't." She glared at me.

"Come on, Comrade. For once just lighten up." I groaned but knew she wouldn't give up. I looked up and opened my mouth. I felt like a complete idiot until one landed on my tongue and I felt Roza's arms go around me.

"See? That wasn't so bad," she said seductively. I groaned internally and had to remind myself that we were out in public and I couldn't attack her right then and there. I had to practice my well-developed self-control to keep my hands to myself. She, however, did not have the years of practice I had. She brought her lips to mine with almost an animalistic intensity. I let a groan slip through my lips and tightened my hands in her hair at the base of her neck. They moved down her shoulders, to her arms and then to her wrists, which were wrapped around my waist. She moved them up to my neck and I moved mine to her waist, gripping her tightly. I suddenly felt a sharp poke on my back and I turned around to see Eddie there, looking slightly disgusted.

"Uh, sorry to break up the happy couple, but we are in public, and I don't think Stan's enjoying this very much." I turned around to see Stan glaring at us.

"Sorry, Stan. I can't help myself." I said cheerfully.

"Shut up, Belikov. Can't you keep your hands to yourself for five minutes?" Asked Stan irritably.

"He can't keep his hands to himself for five seconds. Such poor self control!" he said shaking his head sorrowfully.

"Well," purred Lissa. "I don't have a problem with you not keeping your hands to yourself." She kissed him lightly on the lips and grinned. Eddie, however, looked unhappy as he watched the affection. Poor guy. Suddenly, there was a large crash as we hit a rock on the path. I could hear the horses' terrified whinnies as the sleigh tipped over and cracked in half. I could hear Stan swearing as he picked himself up out of the driver's seat and went to calm the horses. I suddenly heard Rose's ear shattering scream.


	20. Chapter 19

Chapter Twenty

RPOV

My leg had been trapped underneath the sleigh when it tipped, and when Stan got out, it shifted and I heard my leg snap. I screamed in agony as I heard the bone break and blood gushed out. It flowed out of the sleigh and dyed the snow dark crimson. I saw the bone poking through my skin and passed out. I was greeted by welcoming darkness and painless relief. I was only granted that for a minute before I felt something cold being thrown against my face. I screamed again as the pain in my leg registered into my tortured mind.

"Roza! Roza!" shouted a voice. I tried to muffle the screams that poured out of my mouth.

"Rose, Rose! Oh God!" I recognized Lissa's voice as she knelt by my leg. Through the bond, I felt her summon up all the things she could. Light, happiness, life, joy, and love. She sent everything into me and I felt the pain evaporate. Fatigue came through from her mind to mine and I saw her pass out. The healing had used so much of her power, that I couldn't feel her through the bond anymore. Grimacing, I stood up on my still sore leg and picked her up. I shook her, and when she didn't wake up, I slapped her face. She groggily opened her eyes and moaned.

"Liss, here." I muttered moving the hair off my neck. She was too weak and I did what I had the night Victor had captured her. Hunger shown in her eyes and she moved towards me and bared her fangs. She bit into me and I felt the sharp stinging pain followed by blissful joy. She drank from me for no more than a few minutes, but as soon as she was finished, I passed out into the snow yet again.

LPOV

Rose's knees buckled and I crashed to the ground along with Rose. I could see everyone else running towards us and Dimitri knelt by Rose's side. She opened her eyes briefly.

"Hey, Comrade." She got out before closing her eyes and falling back asleep. He picked her up easily and glared at Stan.

"Come on. Let's get out of here and get her inside." I groaned and tried to get up, but even though the blood had strengthened me, I was still too weak to walk all the way back. I suddenly felt strong arms pick me up and I glanced up to see Eddie grinning down at me. Oh God. Adrian walked over and Eddie smirked at him.

"I've already got her. You go on ahead."

"That's alright, Castile. I'll take her." I groaned as I realized where this was going. Adrian was my boyfriend, but I doubted he could carry me all the way back. He was strong, but Eddie was stronger.

"Adrian, this is probably the best plan. I love you and everything, but I think that it will be smarter just to let Eddie carry me there. Just so that I'm not dropped." I smiled and leaned over and kissed his lips. I heard him mumble,

"I would never drop you," but he just walked off. I groaned as I thought of how totally screwed up my life was.


	21. Chapter 20

Chapter Twenty-One

EPOV

With her safe in my arms, I thought about how beautiful she was. She was leaning against my chest and her soft golden hair blew around her face. I somehow resisted the urge to lean down and brush my lips to hers. I figured that probably wouldn't make Adrian too happy, and I didn't want to lose any time with her. We continued trudging through the snow and ice until we saw our cabins far in the distance. I sighed, knowing that I'd have to put her down soon, when I noticed Rose was awake and talking to Dimitri. I saw such love and adoration in both of their eyes, that I suddenly felt excruciatingly lonely. Everyone was happy here except for me. What twisted mind did I have to think that she would actually love me?

RPOV

I slowly came into consciousness and Dimitri's gentle brown eyes looked down at me relieved.

"You're awake! Good. I thought I'd have to carry you the whole way back." I playfully slapped his arm and grinned.

"I'm not that heavy. And I'm not getting down. I'm enjoying this way too much. And this time, I can actually be conscious through some of it. Unlike when a bench took me down." I had meant it jokingly, but his eyes darkened at the memory. I sighed and stroked his cheek.

"Hathaway! You're in plain sight. You might be pleasing, but for everyone else it's sickening. Please keep your hands to yourself." Stan said sighing loudly. I was mentally yelling a ton of un-lady-like phrases at his back. Dimitri chuckled. I think he knew what I was thinking,

I looked around to see where everyone was. Ahead of us were Stan and Adrian walking and not talking. If Adrian was ahead… Where was Lissa? Being unconscious was very annoying. Then I looked to my left, and saw where Liss was. Eddie was carrying her. Lissa looked content, but Eddie had a weird face. He looked… sad. Through the bond, I felt a little bit of regret. What could Lissa regret that concerned Eddie? Eddie and Liss were always on their best behavior. What did they do wrong? I mean I had plenty of things that I regretted, but Liss was different. I looked up at Dimitri with pure adoration. He smiled down at me. I snuggled into his chest and closed my eyes contently. I heard Dimitri sigh in relief and I opened my eyes curiously. Up ahead, the cabins came into view. In my peripheral vision, I saw Eddie put down Lissa. She ran up to Adrian and threw her arms around his neck. I heard Eddie sigh unhappily as he witnessed the scene. I felt a flash of pity for him. I would feel exactly the same way if I saw someone with Dimitri. But then again, I might go up and punch the hell out of them, so maybe not. Liss and Adrian were now holding hands, and I felt worse. I wiggled out of Dimitri's arms and went to go see Eddie. I could feel Dimitri watching me, so I turned around and smiled. I headed back to Eddie and threw my arm around his shoulder.

"Hey, Eddie. You okay?" He rolled his eyes at me.

"Is it that apparent?" I knew what he was talking about, but I shrugged.

"Not really. I was just watching your face. You just looked a bit upset." Eddie glanced over at me. He had a mischievous glint in his eyes. "What?" I was confused. He was supposed to be upset…

"You can read Lissa's mind, right?" I glanced at him.

"Yeah… Why?" He grinned.

"Later on, ask her what happened the night that she and Christian broke up." I suddenly felt a sinking feeling in my stomach as I looked at his smug expression.

"Oh, God, Eddie. What did you do?" He again rolled his eyes.

"Chill. It was nothing. I'll just let her tell you."

I looked up to see Liss turned around and looking at Eddie and me. Eddie shot her a smug look. I saw her eyes widened. Whatever happened this upset her. Her eyes got all red and I saw a few tears escape her eyes. Before I could react, Adrian was beside her.

"Liss. What's wrong? Oh, don't cry. It's going to be alright." Adrian said pulling her close to his chest. I walked a few paces ahead, and turned around so I was right in front of Eddie. He had to quickly stop so that he wouldn't run into me. Dimitri was at my side at a seconds notice. I made sure I was out of earshot before speaking.

"What the hell did you do to her?" I hissed.

"Mr. Castile, what's going on?" Dimitri said.

"Nothing. Why don't you go ask Lissa?" Eddie shot back.

"Why would we do that? You're right here, and she is upset. Whatever you did…" I said.

"Wait. Someone back up please. I have no idea what we are talking about." Dimitri said confused.

"Excuse me, Guardian Belikov, but if you don't know what a conversation is about, could you please stay out of it." Eddie said. I lifted my hand and punched Eddie his face. I heard a crack and blood started gushing out of Eddie nose.

"You do not talk to Dimitri like that," I said smirking.


	22. Chapter 21

Chapter Twenty-Two

I heard a gasp coming from ahead of us. I looked up to see Lissa still crying hard. Adrian has his arm around her and was shielding her body with his. Stan walked over and yanked my arm.

"Hathaway," he barked, "What did you do now?!"

"What does it look like I did? I punched him." I said smugly.

"I can see that. Guardian Belikov and you join me over here. I need you to explain what happened." Dimitri walked over to Stan and they began talking. I looked over to see Eddie yowling in pain. I skipped happily over to him.

"How does that feel?" I asked sweetly.

"Rose. Please stop." Lissa said suddenly her voice cracking. She was slowly making her way over to where I was standing. I looked at her surprised.

"I don't know what he did, Lissa, but I'm sure that that was half of what he deserved." She flinched and left. She walked over to Eddie and gently touched his face. In spite of the pain that he was surely in, he closed his eyes and smiled blissfully. I felt magic surge through the bond and his nose straightened and the blood dried. I groaned as I saw all the hard work I had done put to waste. Eddie smiled lovingly at Lissa, and then hugged her tight. I saw Adrian come up behind him without either of them realizing. Lissa leaned back slightly, and Eddie suddenly brought his lips to hers. Adrian grabbed his shoulders and ripped him around. He pulled his arm back and let it go with full force. The crack that Eddie's nose made this time was even worse then when I had punched him. Blood spurted from his face and covered the snow in front of him, dying it red. I burst into applause as I saw Eddie pass out into the snow. Lissa knelt down beside him and sighed.

"I thought once was bad enough," she muttered. She put her hand back to his face and healed the worst of the breakage. Still unconscious, he moaned, "Lissa." She stood up and glared at Adrian.

"What did you do that for!?" she growled.

"He kissed you! What did you expect me to do?" She stalked off leaving him standing there with his hand covered in blood. He shook his head and walked away. Dimitri groaned and went and picked up Eddie and threw him over his shoulder. Stan stalked behind us and I smiled sweetly at him.

"He had it coming to him, you know." He just glared at me and said nothing. I slowly went to Lissa's side. I felt a wave of emotions crash through the bond. Mostly, it was exhaustion. She had healed so much today. But there was a mix of anger and sadness. There was still that regret there also. I came and put my hand on her shoulder.

"Hey, Liss. Sorry about punching Eddie." She glanced at me, and I knew she knew I wasn't really sorry.

"It's okay. What did he say?" I looked around nervously. I didn't want to bring up this topic with her right now. She was too upset already. There was that slight darkness to her mind that always worried me.

"Nothing, really. Just stuff to annoy me."

"So you punched him?" I groaned.

"Yeah. Pretty much. You know my self-control issues. But are you okay?" I looked at her worriedly. She had been doing so well. Eddie was going to die for whatever he did to her.

"Yeah. I'm fine. I just need to go lay down." We were now at the cabins. We all parted ways and promised to meet at our cabin in an hour. Lissa hurried off to her room. I didn't want to bother her so I stayed in the living room with Dimitri.

"Rose, are you okay?" Dimitri asked quietly. I looked up slowly.

"Yeah. Why would I be upset?" I said.

"Well, usually when Lissa is upset you aren't in the greatest shape." He said looking away uncomfortably. Dimitri still wasn't comfortable talking about feelings. God, I loved him.

"I'm perfectly fine. How are you? I thought you were going to freak about the whole Eddie's-an-ass situation." Before Dimitri could answer, I felt dark emotions and sharp pain coming through the bond. I must have paled visibly, because Dimitri got up and ran to Lissa's room. I was right behind him.

"Wait. Let me go." I knew what was happening and Lissa would not want to be found like this.

"Liss, I'm coming in," I said hesitantly. I opened the door to her room and made my way to her bathroom. She was sitting on the floor with her arm bleeding. Thankfully, I had stopped her before she got too far, but she already had two cuts on her left forearm. I ran over and wrapped my arms around her.

"Liss, you have to stop this! You were doing so well!" She began sobbing and I gently stroked her hair.

"I'm sorry, Rose." She choked out. "I'm trying, I really am! But this whole thing… It's so hard!" She began crying harder and depression began leaking through the bond.

"Lissa!" I shouted. She didn't answer, and I leaned back and shook her shoulders forcefully. "Liss, look at me." She looked up at me with tear-filled eyes. "Lissa, you will be fine. Let's get this cleaned up." I helped her stand up and wash the blood off her arm before carefully bandaging the deep cuts. I heard the door open and Dimitri walked in.

"Lissa, Rose, are you okay?" Lissa was still sniffling, but managed a smile.

"Yeah, thanks Dimitri. I'm alright." I saw Dimitri's eyes go to her bandaged arm, and I felt embarrassment through the bond. She really didn't want to do this. She just didn't know how else to cope. But I had the perfect idea.


	23. Chapter 22

Chapter Twenty-Three

"We're having a party. Come on." She looked at me surprised.

"A party?"

"Yeah! It's Christmas Eve, why not? I am going to walk over and get the guys. Dimitri can you watch Liss while I'm gone?"

"Of course." Dimitri said immediately. He walked out into the living room and I helped Lissa get out there. I sat her down on the couch.

"Lissa. Wait here for me. Okay?" Lissa rolled her eyes playfully at me.

"Why are you treating me like I'm five?" She said grinning. "I'm okay. I promise."

"I'm doing this because I am worried about you." I said before I walked to the front door. "See you guys soon." I said. I walked quickly to the other cabin. I knocked fiercely on the door. Of course, Stan answered.

"Miss Hathaway. What a pleasant surprise," He said sarcastically, "That out of the way. What do you want?"

"I am inviting all you guys here to a party at our cabin. It is Christmas Eve after all." I said politely. I quickly smirked at Stan. "I mean you don't have to come. But everyone has been like all depressed and stuff," I emphasized depressed because I saw Adrian behind Stan, "We need something to pick us up. Adrian… Where's the alcohol?" I saw Adrian eyes widen.

"You want my exclusive stash to throw a retarded Christmas Eve party?" He thought about it for a second and said, "I'm in."

"Fabulous. Now I think I have to invite the ass hole who isn't present." I groaned sarcastically.

"I totally understand what you mean," Adrian said, "Do we actually have to invite him?"

"I think so." I said unhappily. Eddie then appeared behind Adrian.

"I heard something about alcohol and a party. I have to go now. Deal with it." Eddie said playfully. This night was going to be interesting. We quickly got all the lovely supplies and ran over to our cabin. I saw that Lissa and Dimitri were talking on the couch. Lissa's bandaged arm was in plain sight and I turned around just in time to see Stan, Eddie, and Adrian's reactions. Stan was looking away, clearly trying to think about something else, while Eddie and Adrian were staring at her. Adrian slowly turned to Eddie with a murderous look on his face.

"You did this to her," he growled.

"Whoa, Adrian. Back off, dude. I'm not the only one to blame!"

"Actually, you guys," started Lissa, "I-," she started before they both snapped, "Shut it, Lissa." I quickly went to stand between the two guys. As much as I would love to see Eddie creamed again, we had a party to attend.

"Guys, cool it. You're upsetting her." They glared at each other. I saw Lissa calm herself down and stand up. She walked over and placed an arm on both Adrian and Eddie's shoulders.

"Eddie. Please relax. There is no need to fight." Lissa said quietly. I saw Eddie's eyes glaze over and he nodded slowly.

"Ok…" She turned to Adrian.

"Adrian, just chill. It's going to be okay."

"No it won't, Liss! Look what he did!" he pointed to her arm. "I'll kill--," he was suddenly cut off when Lissa touched her lips to his.

"Alright, alright! Break it up! We have alcohol and it's going to waste!" I shouted. Lissa stepped away from Adrian and turn to Eddie. His eyes were still glazed, so he was still under her spell.

"Now, Eddie. You aren't going to fight with Adrian are you? I love him and hurting him would make me unhappy. You don't want to make me unhappy do you?"

"Of course not, Lissa. I won't fight. You should be happy." Eddie said. Suddenly Eddie's eyes were back to normal. "Lissa! Why did you do that?"

"Now Eddie! Stop. I did what I had to do." Lissa answered honestly. Lissa smiled and turned to me. "Ok. Where's the alcohol? I need a drink." Adrian smiled at Liss and put his arm around her shoulder sweetly. He kissed the top of her head.

"What do you want, darling?" Adrian asked smiling. I heard Eddie grunt.

"How about…. A…. Shirley Temple? With extra cherries." She looked up at Adrian innocently. I could see how hard Eddie wanted to punch Adrian right now. Liss wasn't really helping the situation at hand.

"Whatever you want. I think there are some cherries in the fridge." Adrian said. I could tell that Adrian was putting the Eddie thing behind him and was perfectly fine with Lissa. With Adrian and Lissa out of the way, I looked over at Eddie. He had that sad expression on his face again. I could see a hint of jealously in his eyes. I walked over to him flanked by Dimitri. With Stan on the other side of Eddie I knew that I wouldn't be able to punch him again. No matter how much I needed to.

"Eddie. Can I talk to you?" I asked.

"Rose…" Dimitri said uncertainly.

"Chill. I'm not going to punch him again. I just need to talk to him. We're going into the kitchen, so you can stand by the door if you want." I saw Stan and Dimitri shoot each other worried looks, but in the end, they agreed. We headed towards the kitchen and I saw Adrian and Lissa walking out with the container of cherries. Lissa's eyes flicked between us, and I felt worry through the bond.

"It's okay, Liss. I just need to talk to him." There was still worry there, but she let us go by. I heard Adrian say,

"Punch him again if you get the chance." I rolled my eyes at him and Lissa slapped his arm. We walked into the kitchen and I closed the door.

"What did you do to her," I said immediately.

"I didn't do anything! I swear! I would never hurt her!" He sounded so sincere, that I almost believed him. I though back to Lissa's hurt face, and the doubt returned.

"If you didn't do anything then why was Lissa so upset? What did you do!?" I shouted at him. He cringed back slightly.

"Please, Rose. You have to believe me! I would never do anything to her. You know that! I just thought she felt the same way." Despair clouded his features and he suddenly looked like an old man who had been through hell and just barely made it back. My resolve broke and I suddenly felt pity for him. He loved her. He really did. But I knew that she didn't love him back.

"Eddie…" I started.

"No, Rose. I just need to go." I let him brush past me and out of the kitchen. I saw Dimitri and Stan standing outside the door and I sighed. They probably wouldn't let this drop. But to my surprise, Dimitri just smiled at me and left, knowing that I wanted to be alone. But Stan did no such thing.


	24. Chapter 23

Chapter Twenty-Four

He came right in and stood in front of me.

"What's wrong with him? Why did he look worse coming out of here then you did coming in? What did you say?" For once, he wasn't screaming at me. He wanted to know.

"He loves her," I barely managed to whisper. "He really loves her and she doesn't love him back." Stan's face suddenly softened, and he sighed.

"He's been so upset since we came here. During the day, he hides it all. But once we get back, he goes to his room and locks the door. Adrian pretends not to notice. I think he needs help." Stan said quietly. I felt pity for Eddie.

"Well, Stan, that's actually one thing we can agree on. Eddie obviously needs help." I whispered.

"This reminds me of when I was a novice at the Academy. I fell in love with one of my Moroi classmates. She was two years older, but caring and loving. She cared for everyone, and somehow, I got to date her. She was actually a lot like Lissa. We were inseparable. I loved her so much. Then she fell in love with another Moroi. He was royal and from a good family. He had money, which was something I didn't have. But even when she left, I still continued to love her with my whole heart." I could barely process this all. I never dreamed that Stan had this bad of a past. True, it wasn't tragic, but I knew how he felt.

"Where is she now?" I asked, hoping I hadn't crossed the line.

"She died." His answer was short and emotionless, but I could see the pain in his eyes.

"I'm sorry. I never dreamed this happened. Who… Who was she?" I asked tentatively. He stood looking at me for a long time. Finally he answered. His whisper was almost inaudible.

"Elizabeth Dragomir." I froze. Dragomir…. Oh God, he fell in love with Lissa's mother!

"Oh my God. I'm so sorry. Then truth or dare…." I let my sentence drop off. Lissa and her mother looked so much alike. I figured that Elizabeth in her childhood looked like Lissa a lot more too. I watched his face uncertainly.

"It was like I was still a novice. True, it wasn't the same, and I felt horrible actually enjoying kissing a student, but for once, I felt like Liz was still here." My heart clenched painfully. I could never have guessed.

"Stan, I'm so sorry." I murmured. I saw a tear slowly form in his eye then make it's way down his cheek.

"I was going to propose to her." He said suddenly. I sucked in a startled breath. And I didn't think it could get any worse. "It was her birthday, and I planned to go up to her room to propose to her. I got up there, and she wasn't there. I sat on her bed for a while until she came back. She walked in and I gave her a hug and told her happy birthday. We talked for a while until she said she was breaking up with me. My world was crushed. I begged her to consider it. I would do anything to keep her. But then William came through the door." Suddenly, hate filled his voice. "He came in all proud of himself. He asked what I was doing, and then came and kissed her and said, 'I was wondering where you had gone off to after you left my room.' I knew that that was the reason for breaking up with me. She never truly loved me. Even after all we had been through. I left after that. I didn't speak to her the rest of her senior year. She left after that and married that creep. That was the last time I saw her for eight years. I worked for those years and became a guardian. I never took breaks. But then she came back with her seven-year-old son. Andre, and then again with Lissa. For years I kept a watch over Lissa as she began to look more and more like her mother. And then Elizabeth died." His voice cracked. "I made it my priority to make sure Lissa was safe. And then you took her away. I had no idea what was happening to her for years." I thoroughly surprised myself by leaning forward and hugging him. I leaned back.

"I'm sorry. But I did what I thought was best for Lissa."

"I know you did. But I wish I was there to protect her."

"You will be now. You'll be her guardian." He smiled the first real time since we started this damn conversation.

"That's the reason I volunteered. I feel like I owe it to Elizabeth to protect the only child she had left."

"You're going to be great at protecting her. The best." I said sincerely. The door opened again and Dimitri walked in. He took in Stan's expression and walked right back out. There were still tears glistening in Stan's eyes, but he brushed them away.

"We should go out now before someone starts to miss us." I said. I walked quickly out and Stan followed me. We were surprised to see the party in full swing. To my shock, Adrian and Eddie had their arms around each other's shoulders and were singing off key to a song on the radio. I recognized it as Brad Paisley's 'Alcohol'. I could feel through the bond that Lissa had been drinking a little and she was dancing right a long side them with a glass of vodka in her hand. I groaned as Adrian and Eddie hit the line, "and helping white people dance." Lissa shimmied her hips and fell into Adrian's side. Startled, he stepped back and Eddie grabbed her right before she fell.

"My savior!" she exclaimed, kissing his cheek.

"Hey!" shouted Adrian. "You're mine, so hands off of him!" he grabbed her and spun her around. I laughed, relieved they had not started fighting. I went over to the bar and grabbed a Pina Colada. I leaned against the counter and watched as they danced. Suddenly, I felt someone come up behind me. Startled, I turned around and was face-to-face with Dimitri.

"Can, I talk to you for a minute, Rose?" he asked quietly.

"Sure," I said surprised. I followed him into the empty hearth room. I sat down on the couch and looked at him. "Alright, what do you want to talk about?"

"Well, Rose, I've been thinking a lot about everything that's been going on lately, and about our relationship." I suddenly felt nervous. What was he saying? "And, I've come to a conclusion about my thoughts. Our relationship… Isn't professional. You know that." More nervousness came crashing into me. Was he breaking up? "So I've made my decision." And I knew what he was going to say. His damn conscious was telling him to leave me because he was a guardian and I was a novice. No, no, no, no, no!

"Dimitri, wait! Think about what you're saying! Is this really what you want?" He looked at me surprised.

"Roza, I haven't even said anything." Like always, my stupid heart skipped a beat when he said that.

"Just think! Is this really what you want to do?"

"I'm positive." My heart sank.

"Okay. Shoot. Just make it easy. Get it out." He smiled at me and sank to one knee in front of me. I froze.

"Roza, I've been thinking about doing this for a long time, but I've never been able to. True, our lives may conflict, but it won't change the way I feel about you." He reached into his pants pocket and pulled out a small, black box. My heart started beating until it almost shot out of my chest. He opened the box to reveal a glittering diamond ring. "Rose, will you marry me?"


	25. Chapter 24

Chapter Twenty-Five

The breath caught in my throat and I was only able to stare at him. His face became abruptly worried.

"Rose?" I lunged at him.

"Yes! Yes, I'll marry you!" I brought my lips to his and he picked me up and spun me around.

"Oh, thank you!" he exclaimed happily and brought his lips to mine again. He set me down and carefully slid the ring onto my finger. It was a beautiful round diamond with a silver rim. Two smaller square diamonds were placed next to the main diamond. It glistened beautifully on my finger. I brought my eyes up to his face and saw him smiling lovingly at me. I wrapped my arms around his waist and laid my head on his chest. We stood like that for several minutes. Finally, he let go of me and I stepped away.

"I'm going to tell Lissa. I'll see you later." I kissed him one more time before stepping away and leaving the room. I ran out to the living room and was surprised to see that Lissa wasn't there. I made my way to her room and pounded on the door. She answered and smiled at me.

"Hey, Rose. What's up?"

"Let me in, let me in, let me in!" She looked at me in confusion and let me in. I ran to her bed and plopped on it. I stuck out my hand and she gasped.

"Oh my God!!!! Rose!!! That's amazing!" She ran towards me and threw herself into my arms. "Oh, Rose! That's amazing!"

"I know! I'm thinking that maybe we could adopt later on… You might have to take care of the kids though…" Suddenly she gasped.

"Oh no!" I looked at her surprised.

"What's up?"

"I'll be right back," she muttered. "No, no, no, no!" She ran to the bathroom and slammed the door. "Come on, come on!" I heard her going through cabinets. "Thank God." I somehow kept out of her head and out of the bathroom until I heard her start crying. I barged into the bathroom to see her sitting on the floor with something in her hand.

"Liss, what's wrong?" I asked hesitantly.

"Oh God. Oh no." she kept muttering.

"Liss!" She silently handed me what she was holding. It was a pregnancy test. My stomach sinking, I flipped it over to see the little green plus sign.

"Oh Liss. Is it Adrian's?" As soon as I said that, Adrian came into the bathroom.

"What's up ladies?" He took in our expressions and said, "What's wrong? Lissa, what's wrong!?!?" She still didn't say anything, so he turned to me. "Rose, what's wrong with her?" I held up the pregnancy test. "But… I… We… We never…. It can't be mine!"

"I know." Whispered Lissa.

"Is it Christian's, Liss?" I asked hesitantly.

"No." she said crying. Adrian gasped.

"Lissa. I need you to tell me this. Is the baby Eddie's?" She looked at him sorrowfully.

"Yes." With that, Adrian stormed out of the room. Lissa broke into tears. "It's not what you think, Rose. I swear."

"I know, Liss. But when did you, you know."

"Do you remember the night when Christian and I broke up?" I nodded at her.

"I went to see Eddie. I never planned on anything happening, but I was just so upset! And I had known he liked me, and I just needed something to distract me, I swear! Oh, God, Rose! How could I have let this happen?"

"Shh… Liss. It will be okay. Are you sure the baby's his?"

"Yes. Before Christian and I broke up, things hadn't been going well. We never…" she trailed off.

"I know. But, who's idea was it?"

"It was mine, Rose. This isn't Eddie's fault. And I might've… you know…."

"What, Liss." This could not get worse.

"I think I used compulsion. He was against… it… Not against the whole idea, just against it while I was so upset." I squeezed my eyes shut. I had been wrong. It could get worse.

"Alright, Liss. Do you plan to keep the baby?" She looked at me with shocked eyes.

"Of course! Even though it's not my boy friend's baby, it's still mine, and I plan to keep it!"

"You know the rumors this will cause, right?"

"Of course, and it will cause more then rumors. But I can live. Just a little while till graduation anyway."

"Yeah. Well, you need to go talk to Adrian and explain." She suddenly looked at me with terrified eyes.

"No, Rose! I can't! I can't face him yet!"

"Liss, You have to! The longer you wait the harder it will get!" I started crying again.

"No, Rose. I really can't do this!"

"Liss, by God you have to! I will force you if you don't do it on your own. You love Adrian, right?" she nodded. "Then you have to explain if you value your relationship! He'll understand!" She nodded and sniffed.

"I know. But I'm scared, Rose!"

"Don't be, Liss. Adrian will understand and he will forgive you!"

"Alright, Rose. I've trusted you before, and I'll trust you now. You want me to go explain to Adrian? I'll go. Just give me a little time to prepare."

"Sure, Liss. Take however long you need. Adrian will wait for you. I promise." I smiled and hugged her, knowing that she wouldn't have to go through this alone.


	26. Chapter 25

Chapter Twenty-Six

LPOV

I knew Rose was right. I had to explain to Adrian. It was the only way he could ever forgive me. But how did I tell Eddie that I was having his child? I sank down onto my bed and finally got all the tears out. I got a hold of myself and figured out what I had to do. I had to go see Adrian. I walked out to the living room, not surprised to see the party long over. I grabbed my coat and headed outside. I walked through the snow quickly and made my way over to the other cabin. I knocked on the door gently, praying that Adrian or Eddie wouldn't answer. They didn't. Instead, Stan opened the door and looked down at me. He took in my tear-stained face and red eyes, and let me in. I quietly made my way through the cabin to Adrian's room. I knocked on the door and a puffy-eyed Adrian answered. He had been crying. I made my love cry. He took one look at me and went to shut the door in my face.

"Adrian, wait!" He paused slightly.

"What do you want, Lissa?" he asked coldly.

"Please, Adrian! You have to let me explain! I'm not asking for you to take me back, I'm just asking for a chance to explain." He glanced at me before sighing.

"Alright, Lissa. Go ahead." I sucked in a deep breath and launched into my story. I told him everything that had happened, leaving nothing out. When I finished, I chanced a look at his face. There was relief, but there was also anger, probably from the fact that I hadn't told him sooner.

"Thank you for telling me. I need some time to think this through." I nodded quickly. This I could handle.

"Bye, Adrian. See you in the morning," I whispered. He didn't answer. I shut Adrian's door and walked into the hall. I slumped down against the wall next to his door. I sat there for a few moments just thinking. At the end of the hall, I saw Stan standing there. He looked sad. He walked over to me and wiped a few tears off my face. Only then did I realize I was crying. Adrian obviously couldn't hear me, but Stan's hearing was better. He helped me up and walked me over to the couch. I sat down and he sat across from me on a leather chair. Stan just sat there and waited till I was ready to talk. I took a few deep breaths and smiled. Stan smiled back and reached over to pat my knee.

"Lissa, are you alright?" Stan said uneasily.

"Stan... Thanks for asking. It means a lot. But to tell you the truth... I don't know if I'm ok." I said quietly. Concern flashed in his eyes but he said nothing, waiting for me to explain.

"I just don't know what to do, Stan! I'm going to talk to Rose after this but her love life is so perfect now, I don't know if she'll be able to relate. What would you do in my position?" He looked at me for a minute or two until speaking.

"Lissa, it's clear to me that Adrian loves you. Don't let your relationship be ruined by this. You may have made a mistake, but he'll forgive you. Don't give up!" I looked slightly stunned at him. Wow, this was Stan. He looked uncomfortable and dropped his gaze to his lap.

"Right… You need to talk to Rose. She has a little explaining to do."


	27. Merry Christmas EVE!

MERRY CHRISTMAS EVE TO EVERYONE!

From: Marie and Anastasia

We both wanted to wish you and your families a Merry Early Christmas! We also wanted to thank everyone for all the support and know that you are really the reason we keep going! We think that if we don't post that you will find Anastasia's house and come and kill her. (Please don't actually look for her and kill her, that wouldn't be nice)

Another quick note: We wanted to say that every detail in our story wasn't planned. The characters took hold of us and wrote! Most of these twists were just an idea we quickly came up with! We didn't plan it! It just kind of happened!


End file.
